Forgive me if this seems like an idiotic question. I am a competent rider who has never done endurance. I live in Southern California and am 22. I got it into my brain that I really want to try endurance and move away from the hunter/jumper world. Is leasing or half leasing a horse for endurance a totally weird concept? I would only be able to ride 3-4 times a week but from what I’ve been reading, this would be enough for gearing up for a limited distance. So do people do this? Am I totally out of my mind? It seems weird since I wouldn’t be in charge of the horses care… Something which is very important for endurance. Thoughts?
Yes, People certainly do this!
Have you tried googling for a local club?
Plenty of people have semi-retired endurance horses you could lease to do some limited distance competitions. They may not be able to do 100 miles anymore, but 25 would be perfectly reasonable. And any reasonably well-conformed horse can be conditioned to that level too.
You could also probably find a rider who is trying to compete 2 horses and needs an extra rider. Try posting on Ride camp and the aerc Facebook page
I tried to look up any people that were close to me in San Diego but didn’t find many within a 45 minute drive. If anyone has any suggestions for people to talk to, I would love to hear them!
[QUOTE=ehwaz;7398003]
You could also probably find a rider who is trying to compete 2 horses and needs an extra rider. Try posting on Ride camp and the aerc Facebook page[/QUOTE]
^^
Post on ridecamp. I can imagine there are people who would really appreciate having help to condition their horses!
There’s a SoCal Endurance Yahoo group you may want to check out. Lots of helpful people there.
You can totally do it! Google and Facebook are your friend, maybe even ask a local feed store about local clubs.
I’ve been working with some of the problem/ green endurance horses and riding the nice ones for milage for the past 4 years. I haven’t competed but that’s mainly due to my funds. My only bit of advice is to clearly have a plan of action for if the horse get’s hurt. knock on wood I’ve only had one accident in four years but the poor guy sliced his leg and needed stitches asap when we got home. I offered to pay; but the owner just had me work it off trimming her other horses which was best for both of us.
