Endurance riding... what mental image does it conjure up? Overly leanhorses galloping for endless miles at breakneck speeds. Perhaps it's time youthought again. At a three day endurance ride, the Great Northern Connection, held in Manitoba every year there was a grandmother and granddaughter, a mother and a daughter, a mother and father and their daughter and son all competing together. So it's a family sport. The equine athletes were also a wide variety of ages from five to twenty years old. So it's not just for young horses either. There was a qualified veterinarian checking the horses every 10 to 15 miles and the horses had to recover to preset stringent criteria while the clock was running before they were allowed to continue. So the horses can't just gallop mile after mile. At this same three day ride many of the horses rode all three days, fifty miles each day. So the horses aren't used up after each ride. Maybe there's something to this sport that would appeal to the average horse owner.

Endurance riding is probably the equivalent to the human marathon. The rides are 50 to 100 miles in one day or multi-day rides of up to five days of 50 miles or more each day. There is usually limited distance rides of 25 to 30 miles for the novice horse or rider. Horses must be a full 60 months old to compete in open endurance races and a full 48 months to compete in limited distance. Endurance racing is actually a race with the fastest finishing time winning but it is also a test of horsemanship in that a horse must be fit to continue at the end of the race to get a completion. The conditioning of thehorse is usually the deciding factor as the fittest horse passes vet checks firstand that usually makes all the difference. There is also a best condition award which takes into account the traveling time, vet score and weight carried by the horse.

Endurance riding started in California on a bet that the modern horses were as tough as their olden day counterpart. This first race was the start of the world famous Tevis Cup which follows the route of the Pony Express through the Sierra Nevadas. This was in 1955 and the sport has now grown to over 700 sanctioned rides in North America. It was a demonstration sport at the Barcelona Olympic games and it is now recognized by FEI. There are World Championships held under the auspices of FEI every two years.

Endurance riding is not the only distance riding sport. There is also competitive trail riding and ride and tie. Competitive trail differs from endurance riding in that it is a judged event based on the condition of the horse. It has a set time limit which you cannot exceed or come in ahead of without incurring time penalties. Endurance can be ridden at any speed the competitor is comfortably with as long as you complete within 6 hours for 25 miles, 12 hours for 50 miles and 24 hours for 100 miles and pass criteria. The sanctioning body for endurance riding in North America is AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference) which provides a standard set of rules whereas competitive rules tend to vary regionally. Competitive trail is a great place to start young horses as the trails tend to be shorter in length. Ride and tie is a sport where a team of two riders compete on one horse in a race, one rider runs while the other rides and then they alternate.

So does all this information peak your interest just a bit? Think maybe you'd like to give it a try. Let's get started.

CHOOSING A DISTANCE PROSPECT

Choosing a distance prospect. Sounds easy! I thought so too, when I decided to retire my old mare, J.A. Hopes Jewel (Julie). I had started my endurance career on her about eleven years earlier. I had just happened upon her and she was a phenomenal horse for me, always willing, never lame with great recoveries and speed. I thought I'd just go out and buy another one just like her. I retired her at seventeen and let my daughter ride her in endurance for another two years. Julie's now twenty five years young and looking good. As you can tell from this a good horse will last you a long time so choosing the right one is important. I've raced seven horses since then two of which I'm still riding . I've learned a lot about what to look for in the course of my search for the perfect replacement.

The first thing I've learned is there is no such thing as a perfect horse. So you have to be educated enough about horse anatomy to weigh the pros and cons to make an intelligent compromise which will give you the best possible horse for the purpose.

If you asked ten top endurance riders "What was the most important physical attribute in a good distance horse?" I'd bet you'd get ten "Good legs". This probably means slightly different things to different people but to the distance riders it means, straight with lots of bone, good sized feet with a nice flared hoof. Slightly cow hocks do not seem to be a detriment. The hoof should have a concave sole, flat feet lead to bruising. The hoof wall should have enough thickness to hold a shoe, although this is something that will improve with conditioning. The frog should point straight ahead indicating a straight flight path of the foot. The pasterns should be relatively short and perhaps steeper than a halter or pleasure. Suspensory ligament injuries are the most common injury in distance horses so keeping the pasterns a little steeper puts less strain on the ligaments and tendons. I like to keep my horses front feet between 51' and 54' depending on the horse. The cannon bones should be short with good flat bone and a circumference of between 7 to 8 inches, depending on the overall size of the horse. One of my horses has a circumference of 7 3/4 inches, he only weighs about 1000lbs and stands 15 hands. I would consider that an excellent ratio of bone to body mass. Overall size of the horse is a personal preference, I have seen champion endurance horses at just over 14 hands and some nearly 16 hands. The forearm should have good length. The shoulder should be well laid back and lead into prominent withers. These are important to hold a saddle in place over varied terrain without having to cinch too tightly. The back should be short with well muscled loins. Horses which dip in this area are prone to sore backs with the miles. Conditioning, such as hill and cavaletti work can improve a slightly weak back but it would be best to avoid an excessively weak one. The hind quarters need to be well balanced. You should be able to draw an equilateral triangle on the hind quarters from point of hip to point of rump to stifle, indicating a balance of power and speed necessary for this sport. We, of course, all like to see a pretty head even though we don't ride the head. Large nostrils are advantageous in taking in large quantities of air. Too tight a throatlatch might indicate a small windpipe restricting air intake. The limiting factor in endurance horse performance is the lung capacity, we therefore look for a well sprung rib cage with lots of heart and lung room. A deep heart girth is especially desirable. Overall a pleasing well balanced lean angular horse is preferred over a well muscled horse. We're after a marathon runner not a bulky weight lifter. The lean horse has more of the slow twitch muscles which are made for the long haul as compared to the bulkier fast twitch muscles which are built for short burst of speed and require vast quantities of energy.

Arabians or part arabians have proven to be the most successful breed in this sport. They have evolved to cover great distance on little sustenance. At most rides the proportion of Arabians is usually very high and most horses at the elite level of this sport are Arabs. There are a lot of physiological reasons for their success. As I mentioned earlier, Arabs contain a much higher proportion of slow twitch muscles than other breeds and these muscles are muscles which are meant for endurance not speed or power. Arabs have very efficient cardiovascular system to transport oxygen to the muscles. Most Arabs have tenacious temperaments and just keep going when other breeds will quit. Almost any horse can compete in this sport at some level, given proper conditioning but if you are interested in competing at elite levels an Arab would be your best bet.

After checking out the horse on the halter shank have the horse trotted out. Watch for any deviation form a straight flight path. I like to see a horse with a big trot with a good over reach and of course no interference. Something I learned from an experienced horseman was to listen for footfalls. They should sound light on their feet. I had one horse which you could hear coming long before other horses. He came down hard on the ground and sure enough he came up lame. Horses sometimes need to be trained to trot big so I wouldn't discount a horse as long as he's a fluid mover.

I like to see a horse with a ready-to-go attitude. It's a lot easier to hold back a little on the reins than to starch the reins and push the horse for 50 miles. We don't want a crazy runaway either, but a few 50 milers calms down most horses.

If anyone is considering a horse this is only a guideline to the elusive perfect horse. Everyone has different goals for their horses so only you can decide what's important to have in your horse.

CONDITIONING YOUR DISTANCE PROSPECT

Well now you've chosen your prospect it's time to start conditioning. Allow months, even years to condition your horse. That's not to say you can't compete on your horse in a matter of a few months but don't plan on winning any big 50 milers for a couple of years. If you take your time now and choose your horse wisely you should have a partner to ride for many years to come

Conditioning basically means stressing the horse enough for him to make adaptation to strengthen the stressed systems without over-stressing to the point of breaking down. You need to know your horse well enough to be able to spot over-stress The following is a list of the time it take for various systems in the horse to reach their maximum potential: cardiovascular system - 6 to 8 months, blood count - 30 to 80 days, skeletal/muscular system - 10 to 12 months, bones and joints - 18 to 24 months, tendons and ligaments - 24 -30 months, hoof wall - 12 to 24 months. So you can see this is a long process which you can't rush but you can enjoy. You can compete during this time but be sure to compete within the capabilities of your horse at any given time.

No matter what sport you want to participate in on your horse a good conditioning program will enhance performance. All conditioning programs start out the same; long ,slow distance. This means putting some miles on your horses walking and the trotting. Each workout should start out slowly to warm up and loosen muscles. A moderate program of 4 to 6 miles every other day for three weeks should "leg up" your horse enough to start to intensify your workouts. I have found with our climate that to get enough condition on my horses early enough I have had to be innovative. I have a fifty foot round pen with wind boards and six small jumps made out of three logs each. I lunge my horses at liberty around this obstacle course, making sure to go equally both directions. This gives the horse a great workout starting in January when it's pretty cold to be riding. You have to start at about 5 minutes each direction. I work up to about 20 minutes each direction. A barn and blankets are needed to cool out.

As you are conditioning your horse you should be checking his legs everyday by running your hands down them below the knees, paying particular attention to the ligaments and tendons. At first you might wonder what you are feeling for but you are educating your hand to the feel of your horses legs and if anything is out of the ordinary you'll notice it. Any heat or swelling would indicate that perhaps you're pushing the horse a bit to hard and you should back off a bit. Resting until the heat or swelling is gone is imperative. Attitude means a lot. If at any time your usually gung-ho mount is sluggish or cranky he might be trying to tell you something. Pay attention!

Pulse recovery means a great deal. You should learn to take your horse's pulse. A good pulse can be felt under the jaw or behind the knee. A vet might help you learn to take pulse. A good stethescope would be a good investment. Your horse should be recovering to 64 or under in 10 minutes after your workouts. If he's under 60 maybe it's time to increase either the speed or the distance, never increase both at the same time. I use an on-board heart monitor which is a great tool for conditioning and competing safely. Monitors have become relatively inexpensive if you're really serious about conditioning. Anytime a horse's pulse is elevated above the normal for the activity he's doing, look for a cause.

Now that you got three or four weeks of conditioning on your horse you should start to see an improvement in his appearance. Muscles will start to be defined and hard and he will probably be getting friskier. Don't be fooled into thinking he's fully conditioned, but it is time to get more sport specific in your conditioning efforts. That means for the sprinter it's time to start sprinting, and for the distance horse it's time to do some longer distance. Up till now you should have been doing about 6 mile every other day at a trot. He should be recovered to 60 in under 10 minutes. Once a week a ride of 12 to 15 miles should be included with some cantering. This should take about 3 hours. The rides in between should be shorter, 5-8miles, but you could pick up the speed some. Always keep in mind your horses attitude and check those legs.

At this stage it is a good idea to do some sport specific training of another kind. Endurance horses need to learn to tolerate the vet inspection with no fuss.The horse will need to trot out in hand willingly, straight out and in circles for the vet. The vets will be inspecting the horses thoroughly so they must tolerate having their legs handled, having their temperature taken and being touched everywhere. At most rides there is no stabling so most endurance horses must stand tied to trailers or many riders build portable electric pens. The horse must be trained at home to respect the pens. Endurance ride trails include many obstacles such as river crossings, steep hills, traffic and poor footing. Competitors should expose their horses to all these before the events. On steep hills many riders get off and "tail" their horses up to save them. This is walking behind your horses holding onto their tails. Of course this would be a surprise for your mount the first time, so homework again. You should be able to mount your horse anywhere anytime, on steep side hills or in traffic. During all this training you would be continuing your aerobic conditioning.

Keeping records of your conditioning as it progresses is very important. I keep a log with mileage, speed, conditions and recovery after 10 minutes. It is really interesting to compare from year to year. You will probably notice each year your horse is quicker to condition. Once your horse is recovering to under 48 after 10 minutes and this could take anywhere from 2 months to a year depending on previous condition, age and natural ability, you could proceed to some anaerobic conditioning. Aerobic work is work done at a low intensity, usually under approximately 160 beat per minute. This means the horse will burn energy in the presence of oxygen and therefore does not produce lactic acids, which causes fatigue. Most endurance work is in the aerobic range but there are times when we will be stressing our horse more and they need to be conditioned for the work. Don't make the mistake of only doing aerobic conditioning at home and then when the heat of competition come along allowing your horses to compete above this level. Not only are their cardiovascular systems not up to the challenge but their ligaments, tendons, muscles and minds aren't used to speeds. The horse's adrenaline takes over and there could be a wreck.

Once we start working at these intensities we need to keep an even closer eye out for signs of stress. There are some scientifically designs techniques for conditioning at this higher level which achieve great results and minimize risks. Interval training is one of these techniques. This basically means periods of work at anaerobic levels, above 165 pulse, interspersed with aerobic work allowing some recovery. A horse can work at levels of over 200 beats per minute but only for short periods of time without becoming fatigued. The purpose of interval training is to train the horse's body to use more oxygen during exercise, to burn energy aerobically and efficiently for as long as possible; and once forced by oxygen debt into burning energy anaerobically and producing heat and lactic acid; to tolerate higher levels of the waste and to eliminate it from the body more rapidly.

If at anytime during conditioning your horse is injured or ill, you should allow as much time off after recovery as the injury illness lasted. That means if your horses was lame for 3 days you should allow another 3 days of rest before resuming conditioning, and you should reduce the level at which you were conditioning before injury.

In summary, make it fun for you and your horse. I find having competitive goals in mind gives me the reason to get out and ride my horse and leave something else undone. Vary the routine. Ride in company at times for that competitive edge and ride alone sometimes so he'll want to go on his own. Try to simulate the terrain, temperature, humidity, time of day or night to those of the ride. Vary your gaits and most importantly vary your diagonals when posting the trot and leads at a canter. If you don't your horse will become sore from over using one side of his body. This might take some ring work at home but this is important to make a well rounded, supple athlete. Use the principles of progressive loading, no new training is achieved if your horse is doing the same level of exercise (speed or distance) for more than two weeks, but also remember don't increase both speed and distance at the same time. Allow for slow warm ups and cool downs. There will always be some set backs so allow for lost time in your overall goals. Taper off in your training before an event but don't rest totally.

Equipment bears mentioning here. If you are just wanting to give this sport a try, the saddle you currently have would probably do in fact might be fine forever. The most important thing is that it be comfortable for you and the horse. To check to see if it's comfortable for the horse after a long workout remove the saddle and see if his back is equally wet all over. If there are dry spots or roughed up hair, this could indicate pressure point on the horses back. Don't despair! A better pad or a wool pad with holes cut to correspond with the pressure point could cure the problem. There are pads available that are made to disperse the pressure over the whole back. In endurance you see all kinds of saddles from English to Western, from Australian to specially designed endurance saddles. What ever is comfortable for both horse and rider is best. The thinking used to be that lighter was better but now it is recognized that some of the lighter saddles concentrate the weight in too small an area and cause sore backs. Conversely you wouldn't want to carry a 60 pound roping saddle for 50 miles. The saddle must let the rider sit in a balanced position without having to constantly pull themself forward or back. This would lead to fatigue and sore joints in horse and rider.

One of the nice things about endurance is that there is no set costume to wear in competition. Unlike the showring, anything goes, and you see some outrageous outfits on the trail. Comfort is the most important thing. If you' re into jeans, those without the double inseams on the inside of the legs are better to avoid chaffing. Pantyhose really helps even for the guys. At one of the first rides I ever attended a macho fellow I knew asked me if he could use my camper after the ride to take off his pantyhose. It had me wondering for a while. Most endurance riders wear tights or riding breech. We travel in remote areas with the possibility of spills and we sure don't need head injuries. Helmets are the norm at endurance rides. You need to wear something really comfortable on your feet. I find hiking boots offer the arch support I need and are great when I get off and walk.

Feeding an endurance horse can be a challenge. We are working our horses quite hard so their energy requirements go up but if we up the grain too much we end up with an unmanageable mount. I have found that if you add oil to their diet to make up some calories it not only keeps the weight on but gives them a great coat. Apparently horses can store fats in their liver to be called upon it times of stress. I have used any vegetable oil in the past but recently I have been grinding flax in the blender to add to their diets. Fats don't seem to create an unmanageable horse but they do maintain weight.Start out slowly adding only about 1/3 cup and work up to a maximum of 2 cups if necessary. Another important item in the endurance horse's diet is electrolytes. These are the salts that the horse sweats during work. During initial training access to salts and minerals is probably adequate, but when the intensity of workouts increases and during competition it is a good idea to force feed electrolytes. Adding them to the horse's water can turn them off drinking the essential water so I have found that mixing electrolytes with applesauce in a large syringe and squirting them into their mouth is better. Electrolytes must be well balanced and not mixed with baking soda. There are many good commercial electrolytes available or you can mix your own. I use this formula: 3 part table salt (NaCl), 1 part lite salt (KCl), 1/2 part calcium carbonate, 1/2 part magnesium carbonate. The most important nutrient for any horse is WATER. The only time to limit water is after exertion while cooling out, other wise allow them to drink all they want.

SUMMARY

Endurance riding is a lifelong involvement, it's not a sport that you get

into in your youth and then have to give up. The best competitors are in their forties and fifties and there are still people competing in their seventies. The horses also keep competing well up into their late teens or even into their twenties. I think one of the great thing about endurance riding is the rapport you develop with your horse. There is almost a spiritual union between horse and rider which only develops after time spend together in conditioning and competing. Riders develop a sensitivity towards their horses that most people cannot imagine. A feeling of oneness with nature comes over you with the time spent in the great outdoors, enjoying some remote areas without fear of being lost and with a veterinarian to check your horse. It is relatively inexpensive. You meet some wonderful people. It is truly a great family sport. You can compete at any level and get great satisfaction out of it. The motto of AERC is " TO FINISH IS TO WIN" and that about says it all.