Great info, thanks! I would also like to try a LD ride next year. The primary problem I foresee is my hot headed mare is a nutball when other horses she doesn’t know canter towards or past her. Definitely need to work on that.
Gosh, pnalley, given you ride hours on end w/ the tack thing wired, and you’re going to flat race when you’re used to tech terrain, you and your pony are ready for enduro. No problem w/ skipping the LD and enjoying the 50 miler staright away.
Re the beet pulp question, feed at a race what ya feed at home. Bp has more oomph (calories) for the same bulk and it digests in the hindgut instead of early (grain digests higher in the gut) so it doesn’t sugar spike the pony. Try Doc Grlinghouse’s readings for more info: http://www.shady-acres.com/susan/
For first time enduro:
- Know your pony’s pulse now on your tech rides. A six second count of not quite 7 means under 68/min, which is prob the criteria.
-At the race, before the race, backtrack each loop’s end, so you know when you’re half mile from camp. During the race, dismount and hand walk in the last half-mile for all loops so that you arrive in camp already at criteria. Instead of waiting in camp to make criteria; you’ll get to P&R straight away.
Taking a gaited horse to an endurance ride is completely new to me, but the vets at the one ride I took him to definitely knew all about Pasos and I had no trouble. He gaited in hand, didn’t trot. He rarely ever trots. The vets should be able to let you do whatever gait is natural for your horse.
Yeah about the buckets - If I take 6 buckets, I need 9. If I take 9, I need 12. :lol: It’s definitely smart to have buckets with lids along. You never know when you’ll end up hauling water from the other side of camp and having lids is a huge time saver.
I don’t have a cart yet, but lots of people use carts with nice big wheels to haul their gear around camp. Sometimes you end up camped way on the other side of camp from the vet check and it would be nice to have a cart or wagon to pull behind you!
Oh, manure. I always bring a couple of muck buckets, just in case the venue doesn’t allow you to scatter manure, or they don’t have a manure pit. And some don’t. If you have muck buckets, you can haul it home. I also have a couple huge Rubbermaid tubs with snap on lids so I can keep the smell completely contained and the flies out, if need be. But most venues do have manure disposal measures in place.
The bucket comments are funny A2. I know usually have 6 5-gallon with screw on lids, 6 3-gallon with screw-on lids, 4 5-gallon flat back, at least one muck tub, and at least 3 smaller buckets. For one 50 mile ride. That I do with a friend, who has as many bucket as I do.
And I have never once said “I brought too many buckets…”
LOL I know, isn’t it weird? What DOES a person use all those buckets for anyway? :lol:
This was an endurance ride last summer. It was in the 90s and we were in full sun with no trees. The horses were absolutely miserable so we decided to move them under the canopy between our trailers.
We used the buckets with lids to elevate the canopy to accommodate the horses, and then complained that we needed more buckets with lids, because now we had NO buckets with lids to carry water in. So we hauled water in open buckets and sloshed it everywhere across camp.
We laughed and laughed after the fact…all we had to do was turn normal buckets UPSIDE DOWN and set the canopy on them and we could have used the buckets with lids to carry the water. :lol: :rolleyes: The heat made us delerious. That’s my story!
I always end up using buckets for things buckets were never intended for.
I said I have ridden for hours on end, not that I do on a regular basis right now. Definately gotta get a certain level of fitness prior to going.
I don’t know that I would ever want to do 50 miles. Certainly not in the next 12 months. I can’t imagine learning enough in that period of time to be able to complete 50 miles.
I think I know some of the Paso people that will be there. I feel sure we will be the ones providing the entertainment.
I need some new 5 gal gas cans for water, mine finally cracked up. So we should carry 20 gal per horse. This is to serve until the camp has water available? Are helmets required? I use one, this is a great opportunity to get my husband wearing one.
What I don’t know anything about is the actual ride requirements, as in:
- how long to complete the ride?
- is your vet check in the middle included?
I’ll check out the resources listed. Like I said I will know enough by then to be dangerous.
Some friends got a heart moniter and the pony was doing fine on fairly steep, long hills. I’m sure central GA is hillier than south. He crosses water, bridges, roads. I’m pretty sure I know what will spook him. Of course as long as you are breathing you shoul dbe able to learn.
The turtle thing, is that the slowest within the time limits? ON CDE’s we had a mandatory 1 mile walk, do they have anything like that?
More questions:
What do you do to get the rider somewhat fit? I’m 50 and out of shape, but not overweight.
If I need to lead in the last 1/2 mile I need to start walking (at least this place is mostly flat) for exercise.
Sounds like I need shoes good for walking and safe for riding. What do you usually use? I have been using spurs due to the pony trying to be a pony every now & then. I do have Ariats that are comfy.
What gait do you do most of your horse fitting at? Similar to trot (corto in Paso gait)?
No speed racing for me. I’d like to complete it in the time allowed. I don’t expect to be competative in the begginning. If we like it and decide to continue, I would like to get competative after some miles under our hooves. I don’t want to do it bad enough to get a different horse. I want new ways to enjoy those that I have.
Saddle questions. I have used all of them on this pony for long rides over the years with no fitting issues. My choices would be lightweight wintec AP, Yancy (leather about 20 lbs) looks kind of like an endurance saddle. Or lightweight western? I have those saddlebags that are more of the body hugging type as opposed to the carry a 12 pack type. I have used it with all the saddles with no slippage or problems. I currently use a dixie midnight with a Skito on top. ny known problems with those? Bridle & breascollar are Zilco, so hose off for cleaning.
Read your ride flyer ahead of time. Is this an AERC sanctioned ride? Is this ride sanctioned by SEDRA? You should be able find ride flyers at either place.
The ride flyer should tell you the water situation, if not, just call the ride manager and ask.
I carry water no matter what. You never know what could happen. Lines freeaze up, pipe breaks, well ran dry…who knows. I don’t want to be hours away from home and on the road with no water for my horse, so I think 20 gallons per horse gives you a buffer to figure something out, should you get to camp and find out there has been a disaster in the water category.
Are helmets required? I use one, this is a great opportunity to get my husband wearing one.
I have attended a couple rides where helmets were mandatory. That is up to ride management on a per ride basis so you will need to read the flyer.
What I don’t know anything about is the actual ride requirements, as in:
- how long to complete the ride?
- is your vet check in the middle included?
http://www.aerc.org/upload/Rules_Current.pdf
LDs are 25-35 miles in length.
For a 25 you will have 6 hours to complete. 30 miles is 7:15, and 35 miles is 8:30.
Your vet check is part of that time. So from the minute you leave the trail in the morning, you will have 6 hours to do your first loop, do your vet check and your mandatory hold (should be 45-50 minutes or so), your 2nd loop and your final vet check.
But your final published ride time does not include that mandatory hold and will be deducted from your total time.
So say it took you 6 hours to do everything and to finish, but your mandatory hold was 45 minutes, then your published final ride time would be 5:15.
The turtle thing, is that the slowest within the time limits? ON CDE’s we had a mandatory 1 mile walk, do they have anything like that?
The turtle award is the very last person on trail that was still within the limit limit and did not get disqualified or pulled. Around here, the turtles can win some nice awards! :lol:
LDs do not have a mandatory final walk distance. You can walk the whole thing, corto, gallop, get off and lead, stop and take a nap on a log. You can do whatever you want as long as you finish within your time frame and vet your horse through sound.
I certainly do not compete as much as others on the board but I do a lot of long trail rides on top of the competitions I do enter.
So for me, just general farm work, walking the dogs, and eating dinner sitting on my yoga ball is all I need. Stretching really helps, as well as good nutrition and drinking TONS of water and gatorade during a ride. Eat healthy food high in protein and electrolytes. Not as much junk food. I’ve come to realize that the way my muscles feel is much more related to how well I eat and drink than how fit I am.
Flat easy trails make me less sore than ones with lots of hills and technical spots.
Funny enough, I get much more sore and tired riding the Paso than the Arab, even though his gaits are smooth as buttered air. I think it’s because I’m just not used to sitting all the time on my butt and not posting. But you’re used to not posting so you should be ok.
Sounds like I need shoes good for walking and safe for riding. What do you usually use? I have been using spurs due to the pony trying to be a pony every now & then. I do have Ariats that are comfy.
I ride in Nike running shoes. I have stirrup cages on my stirrups so I don’t need to worry about any kind of heel.
What gait do you do most of your horse fitting at? Similar to trot (corto in Paso gait)?
My Paso cortos and my Arab trots mostly. Most relatively young, healthy, sound horses that get lots of pasture time where they are constantly moving, should not require an insane amount of conditioning to complete a 25. Most people way overcondition and go to the ride with a tired horse. If you ride your horse once or twice a week for a total of 15 miles or so max, a week, you should be fine. Horses are usually capable of much more than we realize. As long as you’re going slow and aiming to finish closer to the 6 hours, you will have time to walk and rest along the way.
What I have learned from long time endurance competitors is that doing a lot of long slow conditioning work is most critical when you are starting a young, green horse. So say you’re fitting up a 4 year old for their first LD effort. But if you have a mature trail horse that you ride all the time and the horse has had a decent base on him in the past, your conditioning time is going to be significantly less for aiming at a 25. You could easily just put a couple 10-15 mile rides on the horse, mixing up walk, corto, canter or largo, and go to a 25 and expect to complete at the back of the pack. You could not do that safely on a baby green who just started under saddle for the first time 30 days ago.
It’s getting that initial base condition on an unstarted horse that requires months of long, slow work.
Saddle questions. I have used all of them on this pony for long rides over the years with no fitting issues. My choices would be lightweight wintec AP, Yancy (leather about 20 lbs) looks kind of like an endurance saddle. Or lightweight western? I have those saddlebags that are more of the body hugging type as opposed to the carry a 12 pack type. I have used it with all the saddles with no slippage or problems. I currently use a dixie midnight with a Skito on top. ny known problems with those? Bridle & breascollar are Zilco, so hose off for cleaning.
I think the most popular saddle type I see at rides is the Bob Marshall treeless, but whatever is comfortable for your horse and keeps him sound is all that matters.
Be sure to do some tests at home by running your fingers down the spine after your training rides.
Skitos are a very good pad that lots of people use and are very common.
[QUOTE=pnalley;6047217]
helmets required? I use one, this is a great opportunity to get my husband wearing one.[/QUOTE]
I believe helmets are mandatory at SERA (Southeast Endurance Riders Association) sanctioned rides. Most of the rides in the SE are SERA sanctioned.
Were you and your husband at Boundary Waters a few weeks ago? I was there with friends and someone was talking to my friend about her Freeform treeless saddle. I believe they were on Pasos and mentioned they were doing the Boy Scout ride in February. I plan on doing a a 25 at that ride. I did a 25 there in 2009 and really enjoyed the ride.
There is water available in camp – both community troughs and water spigots. I usually take 35 gallons and fill up my containers as needed.
You can pm me if you have any questions about the ride that haven’t been answered. Not sure how much has changed since 2009.
Lots of good info, we do have some fairly experienced distance riders - one thing I didnt’ see mentioned though…
Vet checks.
Get a stranger to pretend to vet check your horse, PR crew it, your horses needs to learn to be polite and STAND. no kicking, no biting at people walking up and handling it all over their body - sounds basic I know, however a perfectly well behaved horse for you - might not be so willing to behave when strangers start climbing around it.
Teach it to stand when it’s temp is taken as well - not all ride vets do this - but if your horses had never had this done – it can be a big surpise:)
Practice your trot outs. etc.
also when vetting - your vet is your friend there. It’s a hard habit to get into, when riders want to win - but its imperative to communicate with the vet about ANY issues you’ve seen. They may seem insignificant, - but that can and does change fast. Be proactive.
also - regarding conditioning. LSD is good, for sure - I know I’m a bit of a out ‘there’ type for one thing however. I don’t believe in extended trot for hours on end, or even for a full ride. After 30 some years of competition … I’ve come to believe such does a lot of bone damage. walk/trot/canter - keep your conditioning and your racing well rounded gait wise.
I keep saying I am more worried about my big butt finishing the 25 miles than my horse. My ride buddy said that she thinks sheer adrenalin is going to keep us going and she could be right. I think we will be so excited the 25 miles will fly by. We discussed the “gallop by” of other horses. Her horse is super alert to other horses coming from any direction. Legato always seems to know they are coming long before the other horses. We are planning on turning to let the horses see them coming. My horse I don’t think will be a problem but her Arabian gets a little excited when horses go by or run up behind her…or go on ahead.
I believe our ride will have to cross a very busy 5 lane road near the Houston International Airport. Gaaaaa…I am not nervous about my horse being on the road as he was previous to my owning him, ridden down IH 10 numerous times, but I don’t like the idea of crossing such a busy road. Sheriff’s Patrol is supposed to stop traffic. Anyone here have to cross busy roads? This road is crazy to drive on much less cross on a horse!
I’m not an endurance rider, so I’m not sure if it’s good advice, but I do have a gaited horse (SSH) and when I do four or five hour rides I get off once an hour and walk for five minutes. Not only does my rear-end get a break, it feels good to stretch my legs a bit. That’s the catch 22 of gaited horses, you’re not doing the all the work of posting but you will get a sore rear-end and stiff legs from all that sitting. And getting off gives your horse’s back some relief that posting normally gives.
Have fun on your ride!
(I hope to do a six or seven hour ride this summer. Most of my friends get bored after two hours but I just go on “trail mode” and can spend forever out there.)
[QUOTE=AlfalfaGirl;6047702]
I keep saying I am more worried about my big butt finishing the 25 miles than my horse. My ride buddy said that she thinks sheer adrenalin is going to keep us going and she could be right. I think we will be so excited the 25 miles will fly by. We discussed the “gallop by” of other horses. Her horse is super alert to other horses coming from any direction. Legato always seems to know they are coming long before the other horses. We are planning on turning to let the horses see them coming. My horse I don’t think will be a problem but her Arabian gets a little excited when horses go by or run up behind her…or go on ahead.
I believe our ride will have to cross a very busy 5 lane road near the Houston International Airport. Gaaaaa…I am not nervous about my horse being on the road as he was previous to my owning him, ridden down IH 10 numerous times, but I don’t like the idea of crossing such a busy road. Sheriff’s Patrol is supposed to stop traffic. Anyone here have to cross busy roads? This road is crazy to drive on much less cross on a horse![/QUOTE]
Honestly I do more conditioning in the arena than I do outside the arena. I try to do one 15mi or two 10mi rides a week. I largely let my Arab pick the gait he wants to do while out. He switches between trot and canter (He’ll stay at whatever gait I pick if I ask him to, but for the most part I let him pick.) The other 2-4 times I ride are in the arena. I generally do dressage type stuff or work over cavelleti.
On the human end, I’ve found Gatorade to be fantastic. It honestly does seem to help a lot. There is a thick almost gel like liquid you drink before the ride. I usually drink one when I feed my boy his breakfast, go back to sleep for a while and then drink another as we’re tacking up. I may eat a granola bar out on the trail, but usually just wait until we get back to camp. I don’t particularly like Gatorade, so I don’t usually take it out on the trail. I usually take plain water on one side and some other flavored sport type drink (generally Propel) on the other.
Once I get vetted through and have him squared away with whatever he’s getting over the hold, I usually force myself to drink at least one full bottle (more if its hot) of something with electrolytes - Smart Water or a sports drink of some kind. We just eat whatever, but the staying well hydrated thing seems to be key.
When we get done, I try to drink one of the recovery Gatorades. I’ve barely been sore after rides drinking those things. It might be overkill on the 25s, but I plan on moving up to 50s this summer and want to get into a routine and test things out at the lower levels.
I have done only LDs, and one 60, and one 50. I was extremely nervous about the 60 because it was my first effort at that distance, and the footing was almost completely deep loose sand. I was worried about the horse, and myself. There ended up being 1/3 of the horses pulled for lameness and I was a nervous wreck. We had to ride the deepest loop twice. (They have since eliminated it because it made so many horses crash and burn.)
Anyway, I was so conscious of the footing and over paying absolute attention to Sweets the entire ride that I did forget to eat and drink like I should have. We are well accustomed to riding in deep sand, and I prefer it to rock, but the fear was still in the back of my mind. I ended up very sore and tired. Not like I expected, but still. More than I should have been.
When I did the 50 this Spring, the trail conditions were wet - poured rain all day - but it would have otherwise been deep loose sand, so it ended up perfect. The sand packed tight, the horse had excellent footing, except for the slick clay downhills…I wasn’t worried as much as I remembered to eat and drink.
I did the same as candygirl with the Gatorade. Forced myself to drink a bottle on each loop and at the hold. At 40 something miles I remember thinking wow - I’m not tired, I feel awesome, I could ride another 20 or 30. 
So I do think that staying well hydrated and lots of electrolytes into your own system is key.
Alot of that “energy” is the sugar rush you get from Gatorade or other energy drinks. They are full of sugar among other things.
No problem unless you have diabetes or hypoglycemia, but just be aware.
Also, you can get horses to drink strange water by using some Gatorade to sweeten it.
I do have hypoglycemia. No problems as long as you eat enough protein in regular intervals. I make bean salads, peanut butter sandwhiches and tofu based dishes. Gatorade has nowhere near the level of sugar as a soft dink. Also you can buy powdered Gatorade without sugar.
That was me at Boundary Waters, we also passed you on the trail. I was riding the one I hope to take. Little dark bay/black with red tack.
Lot to learn & take in.
The AERC education thing is pretty good. Whomever wrote it has a great sense of humor
I did a good bit of trail riding this last summer. Sometimes 18 or 20 miles in a day, and since I really don’t like Gatorade much either, I drank Smart Water. It contains no sugar or carbs, but it has electrolytes in it and it tastes like good bottled water. I always felt way better having water and a granola bar vs. some nasty Gatorade, which always make my mouth taste like sweaty socks…:no:! Propel is another decent choice if you want something with some flavor.
A lot of people don’t realise that they too sweat when out riding. if your horse is sweating and losing electrolytes, you are too.
The others are quite right to recommend professional Electrolyte replacement drinks. I use one from the cyclists shop, and take it before the ride, at vet checks and have found that I don’t get tired at all.
The best way for riders to get fit is to - ride. It’s a total body workout, and a great way to lose weight if you ride for a couple of hours 2-3 times a week. I have a friend who cycles, but her arms and shoulders don’t get worked, so she suffers if her horse is feeling super-charged on the day.
One thing I noticed: someone recommended having a whip to encourage their horse to move out in the trot up. Wow! we aren’t allowed whips (or spurs) anywhere near a ride!
