Arabians & Endurance

[2869]

First let me say I am not an endurance rider but there is a mare in our barn that has done at least one Endurance ride at Fair Hill. She may have done more. The owners of the horse are thinking about selling her and have asked for my help.
Are Arabs a desirable horse for endurance? And if so, where might I find other websites catering to the Endurance horse.

Mods: pls delete if you feel this crosses the line. Im not advertising since they havent decided to sell but more what is the marketability

[Renae]

Arabians are THE endurance horse. There is not a breed of horses in the world that can consistently best the Arabian at endurance. Here are a few places to start on yur informtaion quest:
http://www.arabianhorses.org/default2.asp
http://www.aerc.org/
Do you know the horse’s registered name? If so PM it to me and I can look up her show/ride record if she has any recorded with AHA.

[2869]

Ranae: thank you for the info. I dont know her registered name unless it is the same as the barn name which is “Lace”.
Are there particular blood lines that stand out? I was told she is very well bred, in fact the original owner was going to use her as a brood mare before the owner fell ill. Im waiting for the current owners to get me that information.

[islandhorse]

Go to www.endurance.net for more information on endurance and also they have a very popular classifieds section including ‘Horses for Sale’, which of course is mostly Arabians. I believe Classified listings are only a few dollars and include pictures. I would definetly list the horse if you are gearing it towards an endurance or distance riding home.

Endurance people tend only focus on bloodlines related to endurance (not the show ring). But most importantly is confirmation, temperment, and movement/way of going (which sometimes is the opposite of what they look at in the show ring).

[islandhorse]

If you do find out who rode her in the endurance ride, go to: http://www.doublejoy.com/erol/Individual/RiderHistory.asp .

If you find out her registered name or name she used when competiting (There are lots of horses with the word “Lace” in them with endurance histories), go to: http://www.doublejoy.com/erol/Individual/HorseHistory.asp

[Renae]

LOL everyone and their cousin thinks their Arabian is well bred :lol: As Christina said compeltely depends on your viewpoint in the Arabian world as to wether your horse is well bred or not.

[A_P]

It also depends on what the arabian is bred for. There are lines of arabs that are specifically bred for halter/model classes that are extremely ‘typey’: super dished faces, fine bones, bug-eyed, swan-necked that are useless for endurance (or any other athletic endeavor).

[islandhorse]

A.P. - don’t forget the itsy-bitsy tiny hooves and small nostrils - UGHHHHH

[2869]

AP: that is exactly how I would describe her. She is beautiful, has a cresty neck, dishy face and is fine boned. Her mom won on the line at Devon. and yes, tiny feet!

[Romantic_Rider]

Um… just cause an Arab is ‘halter’ pretty doesn’t mean they can’t do endurance. My little Arabian mare has as many or more halter horses as performance horses in her background. She is not, super, super typey. But she is typey. She has a very graceful neck, beautiful dished face, large eyes, and is finer boned than the majority of endurance horses. Compared to most endurance horses, she is classy. Now, I’ve not taken her 50 yet. She’s only 7, and is a little small for me. But she can consistently top ten L.D. rides. And she absolutely loves it. She’s about the gamest little mare I’ve ever ridden. In fact, she’s far more gutsy than my Mom’s horse who was bred and is built purely to go the distance. What she doesn’t have in bone she more than makes up for in heart and want to. Now, she does have good feet… but I still made my point.

[saratoga]

[QUOTE=2869;2495527]
AP: that is exactly how I would describe her. She is beautiful, has a cresty neck, dishy face and is fine boned. Her mom won on the line at Devon. and yes, tiny feet![/QUOTE]

I have an Arab mare like this too. She was mainly bred for halter, I believe. She doesn’t really look like the typical Arab that is considered the ideal for endurance- with a lot more bone, bigger feet, more of a “coarser” look. But we’ve done 2 LDs so far and she is working out great. I dont know how she would do with Top Tenning, but I’m not interested in that, so its all good.

[islandhorse]

[QUOTE=islandhorse;2495046]

Endurance people tend only focus on bloodlines related to endurance (not the show ring). But most importantly is confirmation, temperment, and movement/way of going (which sometimes is the opposite of what they look at in the show ring).[/QUOTE]

If you review endurance horse classified, you will see seller’s spouting out cannon bone sizes (bigger the better), shoe sizes (bigger the better), way of going and temperment. When the buyer comes to see the horse in person, they will take into consideration nostril size and heart girth, among other things. A major PLUS of course would be a “pretty” or “beautiful” arabian (who wants an ugly one?). This could certainly mean a dished face. Swan necks are great IMO, but they still need to know how to stretch out to eat up the miles (you can’t do an 15+ mile trot with a vertical head and exaggerated swan neck). But no one want a ewe-neck because that mean the horse is not carrying himself correctly.

If you already have a fine-boned, small-hooved, show-ring typy arabian, go for it. But if you are trying TO SELL that horse TO AN ENDURANCE (50+ miles) HOME, I don’t think you will have a lot of takers. You may have a little more success if your market the horse as an LD horse “perfect for junior or small female”.

[southernhighlander]

i don’t think arabs are that good for endurance i think the appy and the mustang are better horses for endurance and the appy has carried a home and a family on it’s back and travelled 2 thousand miles in under 2 weeks.

[Romantic_Rider]

You are entitled to your opinion, of course… but I dont’ believe the vast majority of endurance riders would agree with you.

[Prieta]

That appy’s feat is admirable and awesome; however, this appy might be an outlier in endurance world. Just count how many Arabs and Appys complete LD and 50s, then we can say something. This Appy ought to be more well known for her feat in taking care of the family!

[southernhighlander]

prieta and romantic rider we have this talk all the time here in new zealand and the appy’s did what i was talking about back when the indian wars was going on.also i think there are more appy’s finishing better condition than the arab.

[Romantic_Rider]

I honestly don’t know what endurance riding is like in New Zealand, but I can say for absolute certain that in America the Arab is THE endurance horse. And even in Europe I believe. Almost all I see are Arabians or half-Arabs. I have seen a few Apps, but they don’t do nearly as well as the Arabians. If you look through Endurance News magazine for the top placings in whatever, they are pretty much purely Arabian. And when is the last time an App or Mustang won the Tevis Cup or the World Equestrian Games ride?? Never, that I can think of. So I think you need a whole lot more proof before you go saying Arabs don’t make the best endurance horses.

[Auventera_Two]

I don’t think a horse has to be a puke to be a good endurance horse. I’ve seen some lovely, typey horses whose owners compete them in various things, including endurance. My Arab is quite typey and elegant but she’s a worker. She’s not “exotic” but she’s typey. She’s only done one official LD ride, but she’s got many training miles under her belt. She can go and go and outpace most horses I ride with. She’s a “halter barn drop-out” and didn’t have the exotic look they were hoping for so they put her on the market cheap. She’s heavily halter bred, but she’s fairly big and solid at 15 hands, and over 1,000 pounds. I realize this is not a big horse, but for an Arab, she’s good sized.

She’s smart and quick witted, she is surefooted as a canyon mule, and isn’t afraid to ford water or climb hills. I’ve tailed up on her a few times on training rides, and I think she’ll prove to be a solid endurance horse for me.

I get a lot of compliments on her flashy good looks and conformation. I even had a guy say to me once “Boy, something that pretty oughta be packaged and put on a shelf to look at.”

But she’s most definitely a working horse. She has physical athleticism and mental aptitude that I’ve found hard to match in a horse. I’ve had quite a few horses and none have stacked up to the heart and mind this girl has.

[LMH]

Oh she is LOVELY! I bet you are having a blast with her!

[southernhighlander]

[QUOTE=Romantic Rider;2508351]
I honestly don’t know what endurance riding is like in New Zealand, but I can say for absolute certain that in America the Arab is THE endurance horse. And even in Europe I believe. Almost all I see are Arabians or half-Arabs. I have seen a few Apps, but they don’t do nearly as well as the Arabians. If you look through Endurance News magazine for the top placings in whatever, they are pretty much purely Arabian. And when is the last time an App or Mustang won the Tevis Cup or the World Equestrian Games ride?? Never, that I can think of. So I think you need a whole lot more proof before you go saying Arabs don’t make the best endurance horses.[/QUOTE]

well to anwser your question about how many mustangs have won a tevis cup one in fact.1960 Ernie Sanchez Marko B Mustang G 13 and this is the one that won it.here in new zealand everyone use appy’s and arab’s also here is my proof that the mustang is better than the arab.
http://www.mustangs4us.com/adopt_a_mustang.htm

the arab maybe born in a desert,but the mustang has survival skills and also when they are born they are born straight into a endurance ride for their life from the start.
http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2006/08/01/news/top_stories/03tevis1.txt?pg=1

http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2006/08/01/news/top_stories/03tevis1.txt?pg=2

Montana SMR685, is the all time Top Ten Mileage Champion Spanish Mustang to date. He completed the Tevis Cup twice, the second time at age 19. His average speed was 12mph on 5 day rides, but he was clocked at 15mph in trott which was the speed at which he was overtaking cantering horses! In 1990 Montana clocked up 800 competitive miles in 60 days, and won the 500 mile XP Ride. He is now 29 and enjoying retirement in California.

http://www.spanishmustangs.org.uk/work.html

here is a link for the mustang montana.

and here is another link saying why the mustang is good for endruance.

http://www.spanishmustangs.org.uk/123.html