Dabbling in endurance with no trailer and limited schedule: hopeless?

[MelanieC]

My Arab gelding and I train primarily in dressage and hack out regularly. I have wanted to try endurance since I bought him five years ago, but I don’t have a trailer. I hate to ask this question because I’m sure it’s a common one. Is my situation hopeless, or is trailer pooling common?

My second question is whether it is possible to get a taste of endurance without being able to do overnight trips for the time being. Work and kid responsibilities mean that getting away overnight will be hard for at least the next few years.

[SharonA]

No. No. Do Not Do It. The first taste of it, and your horse will never, ever forgive you for 1) not doing it earlier, and b) not doing it more often than dressage. I warn you, they do not like to come back to 20 metre circles and lateral work off the rail after they have been to a competitive trail event (even though dressage and trail riding are great for each other). You will get the Arab Glare of Disdain, and if you haven’t already gotten this look, being as your horse is a gelding and not a mare, your horse will now learn it from an Arab mare on the trail.

I only regret not having had the courage/oomph to leave kids with hubby and do more CTRs (shorter endurance-ish rides) when my horse was younger; at 25 she doesn’t have the stifles for it now and her owner needs to go on a diet. But she absolutely reveled in the CTR thing. I remember a judge looking at her and saying, “She’s in her element, isn’t she…” Actually, horse would probably tell me that her stifles are just fine for CTR, and it’s dressage that is getting old.

You must give it a try. Life is short. Arrange things for kids and spouse for 36 hours, and go. They will be fine. (Just remember that you will be tired when you get home, whereas they will be waiting to pounce on you and throw you back into mommy/spouse duty. Save some energy for this inevitability.) If there are rides in your general area, there is no reason you have to spend the night, but I will say that camping with my horse, whom I full board so I don’t have the regular intimacy of night check and “good mornings,” is one of my favorite memories.

Oh, and the trailering part is easy. Go get a trailer and admit that the cult has taken you over. It is hard to depend on others for a ride all the time, especially if you have work and kids that force planning for rides to a whole different level.

We never had time to do more than CTRs, due to work and family commitments and there were very few in my area, but they were a blast in every way. So proud of my horse, so happy to be moving out down the trail, friendly helpful people, knowledgeable judges, folks out enjoying their horses of all sizes and shapes and colors… It was great.

[Stushica]

No. No. Do Not Do It. The first taste of it, and your horse will never, ever forgive you for 1) not doing it earlier, and b) not doing it more often than dressage. I warn you, they do not like to come back to 20 metre circles and lateral work off the rail after they have been to a competitive trail event (even though dressage and trail riding are great for each other). You will get the Arab Glare of Disdain, and if you haven’t already gotten this look, being as your horse is a gelding and not a mare, your horse will now learn it from an Arab mare on the trail.

This!! But to further answer your question it is totally possible, I would volunteer at a ride and meet people near you who might be willing to stuff an extra pony in the back for some gas money. I just recently bought a trailer but my truck isn’t quite road worthy so I still trailer pool and have been for the last 6ish years (very fortunate!). Competitions are harder though since you’ll have to be on the same schedule as your trailer driver. Plus, everyone seems to take everything in the barn to rides… just in case, so you may have to drive separately depending on how much room they have or how much other stuff you will share with them.

I would say that you could just make it a day thing but I would really prefer not to. Riding in a trailer can be hard and stressful on our horses and after they’ve carted my butt for at minimum 25 miles, I’d like to stick them in their little paddock/ stall to stretch, eat, drink, relax, and sleep. Plus, the evenings at rides are one of my favorite parts! People gathering around talking and being social, figuring out what went well that day and what could have been improved. I’ve done overnight sitting so it is possible to find someone to watch the kiddo’s if dad isn’t around, or depending on how old they are you could bring them with you Endurance is much more family friendly than Dressage seems to be.

I imagine it would be easier to find someone willing to do a day thing for CTR than endurance but it wouldn’t hurt to ask around.

Good luck!

[Hampton_Bay]

I think it depends on where you live. For me it would be impossible without a trailer and the ability to spend the night. All rides are a minimum of 3 hours away, most much farther than that. It also requires a lot more time spent in the saddle than you can imagine as a dressage rider. I tried it when my daughter was almost 1. My horse gains fitness easily, but it was still almost impossible to spend 3 hours on the trail to do a decent conditioning ride on top of working full time. I could manage the 5 to 7 mile rides at a brisk trot, but the longer slower distances to really get them to the 25 mile ability was just too much with little kids.

We did do the overnights as a family, but then we have a gigantic trailer we could sleep in. It almost has living quarters, once DH resumes installing plumbing.

[Stushica]

Something else to keep in mind with what Hampton Bay said is that if a ride has an early start at 7am, or for arguments sake even 8am and you live 3 hours away you would have to leave the barn at at least 4am to get tacked up to start, meaning even if everything is ready to roll in your/ friends trailer you would be waking up at 2 or 3AM (depending on how far you live from the barn to eat, get dressed, and throw the horse in the trailer… ick.

[MelanieC]

There are lots of places to ride nearby (I’m just outside of Portland) but a trailer isn’t in the cards and won’t be for quite some time. We’d need a tow vehicle too and have nowhere to park either, plus between my job and having a 3 yo kid I can’t justify it. I’d love to have one though - I can’t go to dressage clinics or anything like that on the weekends without begging a ride, and I hate begging rides.

I am guessing that CTR is more realistic for now. I can leave the kid with husband for day things (and we only have one kid) but he often works on weekends, and I also work so just up and leaving for three days straight isn’t possible. I can try to condition my guy some at home, as we have 42 acres to hack out on at the barn with some hills and varied terrain (but no water I can cross), but we’d both like to get away from home.

Thanks for the input!

[AmarachAcres]

[QUOTE=MelanieC;8331763]
There are lots of places to ride nearby (I’m just outside of Portland) but a trailer isn’t in the cards and won’t be for quite some time. We’d need a tow vehicle too and have nowhere to park either, plus between my job and having a 3 yo kid I can’t justify it. I’d love to have one though - I can’t go to dressage clinics or anything like that on the weekends without begging a ride, and I hate begging rides.

I am guessing that CTR is more realistic for now. I can leave the kid with husband for day things (and we only have one kid) but he often works on weekends, and I also work so just up and leaving for three days straight isn’t possible. I can try to condition my guy some at home, as we have 42 acres to hack out on at the barn with some hills and varied terrain (but no water I can cross), but we’d both like to get away from home.

Thanks for the input![/QUOTE]

I think you posted on the PNER group and I replied to you there.

I got my start in CTR’s trailer pooling for 2 years. A woman I ride with trailer pools with people as she has no trailer, in fact I’m picking her up this weekend for a camp out.

It IS possible and worth it. Just be a good trailer mate. Help keep things tidy, bring extra snacks and water for them. Find ways to make them want you to come back again. That is what I did. Always cover half or more of the gas and let them know you are willing to pay if your horse does any actual damage to the trailer. This never happened to me but they were glad to know I would step up to the plate if my horse freaked out.

Be super organized and label everything you can. I had bins with my name and used colored electric tape and just did loops of color on stuff I couldn’t write on. Everything with a band of green tape on it was mine.

That said, PM me and if I can ever grab you I will.

That said, I have yet to do a ride due to my work schedule and I hope to figure things out for 2016 ride year.

[GotMyPony]

[QUOTE=Stushica;8331737]
Something else to keep in mind with what Hampton Bay said is that if a ride has an early start at 7am, or for arguments sake even 8am and you live 3 hours away you would have to leave the barn at at least 4am to get tacked up to start, meaning even if everything is ready to roll in your/ friends trailer you would be waking up at 2 or 3AM (depending on how far you live from the barn to eat, get dressed, and throw the horse in the trailer… ick.[/QUOTE]

Even scarier than that - to me - is the idea of getting back in the truck and attempting to haul home the same day. Having once caught myself about to nod off at the wheel during a long drive - thankfully not with trailer - I gained a whole new respect for making sure you’re well rested before getting on the road. Not worth the risk to you, your horse, or anybody else on the roads.

[MelanieC]

You’re right - I did post on the PNER group. Thank you! I did get advice to come volunteer at rides (but not ride) and I’d like to do that, in a previous life I did that kind of thing all the time (sheepdog trials, not horse stuff but lots of volunteering before I started competing), but now when I get a rare solidly child-free day I am loathe to spend it completely out of the saddle. I know, I know, you get what you put in. So I’m thinking maybe it would make more sense to try to get into CTR or even just casual trail rides in various places, and shoot for shorter rides overall in the meantime, until my kid is in school.

I have a crazy schedule (it changes every few months - I’m an adjunct prof) and my husband’s schedule changes weekly, which means I often have random days and weekends totally free but they are different every week and it’s hard to plan for anything that happens regularly.

I always assumed that if someone was going to be nice enough to go out of the way to pick me up and haul me somewhere, I’d cover all of the gas. Whoever’s hauling is taking time to get us, plus taking the risk of hauling a horse they don’t know, PLUS burning gas. I’d love to come along with you if you come down this way. I’ll pack snacks too!

[clarzoo]

Not sure about in your area but the group governing CTR’s in my area require that the horse be on the event property the night before the ride. The horses must be vetted in before the ride starts and since most rides around here start at daybreak to avoid heat, there is not time for vet-ins in the morning. That’s just something to keep in mind about CTR’s. The endurance world seems more flexible with that rule, but I am not as experienced there.

I will say I recently had an amazing 3 years of competing heavily with my gelding in CTR’s with no truck or trailer of my own. I made an awesome equally CTR horse crazy friend that was willing to pick me and my horse up and let me crash in her living quarters trailer. It worked well for both of us as she doesn’t like hauling alone. I was on her schedule, of course, but it was worth it. I have some great memories from those years.

The only reason I had to stop competing is because I moved too far away from her for it to be possible for her to come and pick me and my horse up anymore. Such a bummer!!

I bet you will LOVE getting out there on the trails, and I hope you find a trailering buddy

[saratoga]

I agree a big factor is where you live, as far as having to spend the night. For me, there is only 1 endurance ride within 3 hours of my house, so to much driving to do in one day. As for the carpooling, lots of endurance rides also have fun rides, so maybe there are trail riders who would like to participate in those and be willing to take you along for gas money and company.

[gothedistance]

[QUOTE=MelanieC;8331165]
My Arab gelding and I train primarily in dressage and hack out regularly. I have wanted to try endurance since I bought him five years ago, but I don’t have a trailer. I hate to ask this question because I’m sure it’s a common one. Is my situation hopeless, or is trailer pooling common?[/QUOTE]
Not hopeless, just difficult. Trailer pooling isn’t that common because of the overnighting, but if you can find an endurance person who is willing to mentor you and has the trailer to do so, then take them up on it…athough, (unfortunately) the second part of your question means you may have to search long and hard for someone to fill your needs because…

…

My second question is whether it is possible to get a taste of endurance without being able to do overnight trips for the time being. Work and kid responsibilities mean that getting away overnight will be hard for at least the next few years.
…

the above answer is pretty much “no”. Vetting of the horse takes place the day before the ride, and the rides usually start at dawn, and sometimes pre-dawn. Unless the ride is being held in your own backyard, or nearby with permanent facilities, or close enough that you can leave your horse with a trusted friend also at the ride and you yourself motor home at night and get up before dawn to be back for the ride, this just isn’t going to be feasible for you to do.

Wait until your situation at home and work is controllable enough that you can be away for the weekend, finance a trailer for yourself (assuming you have a truck, but if not, get a truck, too) and then prepare to enjoy all the fun of Endurance.

[gothedistance]

Melanie - I’d suggest you try and hook up with some local endurance riders and see if anyone needs a “body” to ride one of their endurance horses. That will give you an idea of the sport, and if you like it enough to start working towards acquiring your own truck and trailer, and necessary time off.

Keep in mind that casual trail riding is a pastime, not a sport, so it won’t give you any kind of advantage when it comes to doing either CTR or Endurance which are competitive sports, albeit VERY different in structure and details, including rules which are quite different and not necessarily compatible with each other. CTR and Endurance can be compared to dressage and hunt seat: both those ring sports take place in an arena and include a horse, but are two entirely different sports.

So, if you want to try endurance, find an endurance rider with horses that could use an extra rider and are willing to give you a try. You may have to go trail riding and condition riding with them first for them to get an idea of how well you ride and how much saddle time you yourself can endure, If they give you the thumbs up, great. Also, if you can show up the morning of the ride and just get on and go, so much the better. A good thing about this sport is the vast majority of endurance riders like to do all their own horses themselves because when they do the work themselves they know everything is done in order and what needs to be done IS done. Then they will hand over the reins to the extra rider and have them give the horse the ride.

Another thing you may consider is boarding your horse with an endurance trainer. Let them get the conditioning and miles onto your horse, with your help of course, and then let them handle transportation, care, and then supervising you at a competition where they take care of everything and you just show up to ride your horse. Limiting your conditioning to a mere 45 acre field is an OK start, but isn’t going to give you much in the way of being ready to go beyond an LD or a short CTR.

[RPM]

I don’t do endurance rides, I don’t have children, I’m not married.

So read this or not, your choice.

I have looked at the thread over on the Hunter-Jumper forum about whether or not to take young children to a show.

Can you and your DH and DK take a long 3-day weekend together? Or a longer vacation? Maybe you could rent a rig for that time period, and go to where there’s going to be an endurance ride? Maybe DH and DK could do as they would at a tailgating football game and just hang out and visit with the other nonhorsey significant others while you and horse hit the trails? Or could they stay at a hotel with a playground and a McD’s nextdoor while you ride? Or a hotel with a babysitting service so your DH could go with you and groom/watch/bring water?

When I was a child our family vacations were my dad’s summer business trips. We would drive to wherever the business event was, and my mom and we kids would stay in the motel and swim while my dad was at meetings all day. We would have supper together.

Could your family do something like that, with your riding being your “meeting” and DH and DK getting in some dad-child time together?

Or instead of a hotel, rent a an LQ trailer and camp at the place where you’ll ride, the way people do with RVs at football games?

[betsyk]

I am certainly not an expert on any of this, having tried my first novice ride two weeks ago! but I also have an Arab who wasn’t getting any younger and had told me loud and clear that he was sick of 20-meter circles and wasn’t really into eventing. I prepared for this adventure all summer by trail riding a LOT, getting an app for my phone that showed me how far and how fast we were actually traveling (enlightening but disappointing - our “long” rides were only about 7 miles!), putting shoes on him, getting his hocks injected, etc. etc. It was awesome and I can’t wait to do it again next year!

I also work weekends, and all this required planning ahead by months to get the weekend off, negotiate trailer use with spouse, etc. We didn’t camp at the ride because he still doesn’t know how to spend time in a little electric paddock (that’s next year’s assignment!) but we stabled nearby. I think it would be hard to trailer in and out on the same day, unless you lived less than a couple hours away - he was TIRED afterward, and so was I. I asked around and found another person who wanted to travel with us. I probably wouldn’t drive that far out of my way again to pick up someone I didn’t know very well, but for a long time I was the one who didn’t have wheels and I figured I owed some karma! If you ask around, you might find someone in your area who’s looking for someone to condition with and travel with. It would help if that person had some experience and could help you figure out what you’re doing!

Another thing that was really helpful was volunteering - really helped me get the lay of the land and just feel more comfortable with what was going to happen and the general climate, because I knew NOBODY (until I discovered there were two people there with four horses that lived ACROSS THE ROAD from us, that I had no idea were even interested in this sport!). Can you recruit a babysitter to come for the day and wrangle your 3-year-old while you volunteer for a few hours? I, too, grew up in a family where vacations meant going along to my dad’s race car hobby, so we learned early how to hang out and play and look forward to IHop and a motel with a pool! Teach your wee one to enjoy camping?

My plan for next year is probably going to be to volunteer at something early in the season and reasonably close to home (within 2-3 hours), without my horse, then pick something in June, September and October. I’d rather spend the hot weather months doing day trips. I think the longer day trips are going to be important because we just don’t have the miles of trails or hours of riding needed to be really prepared, and I want to know how my horse is likely to feel after more hours/more miles.

Good luck in pulling it all together! As someone said above, those 20-meter circles become a lot less appealing when the alternative is trotting along the trail!