new to endurance riding - advice?

[RiderInTheRain]

I’m an adult amateur and am really interested in getting started in endurance riding. I’ll give a little background info on myself and my intended mount so hopefully you helpful folks can point me in the right direction with regards to useful resources.

I’m primarily coming at this from an eventing background, though I’ve ridden hunters/jumpers, dressage horses and spent few seasons fox hunting as well. Out hunting, I ride over varied terrain at whatever speed is necessary as I’m either in the first field or whipping in (helping with the hounds). I also trail ride frequently with friends or alone.

My horse is a 13.2 hand 7 year old Morgan gelding. He was also my hunt mount this year and after conditioning during hound walking and cubbing season performed well in all kinds of weather and footing. He never came home seeming tired or sore after a hunt and always pranced back to the trailer with plenty of excitement.

I’d really like to try a limited distance ride with him this season. What I’m unsure of is where to start with conditioning. I would like to do a 25 mile ride to start. I’ve covered similar distances with him out hunting, but it was with quite a bit of galloping and then long rests waiting for the hounds so different pacing than for an endurance ride. Most of the conditioning resources I’ve found online start with a pasture fit horse, not one who is in regular work 4-6 days a week and whose routine already includes a ride or two per week of walking/slow trotting hill work. Any recommendations for training for an already reasonably fit horse?

Also, if most of the trails that are easy to access for me are very, very steep (requiring walking down them as they are often muddy) is it acceptable to primarily condition a horse on these? Or would it be wiser to haul out more frequently to train on flatter ground that might more accurately mimic the ride(s) I would be likely to do?

Sorry for the novel and thanks for any and all helpful advice or nudges in the right direction!

[prudence]

You guys sound ready for a 25 miler, especially if it’s held over flat ground. Just listen to your boy and you will be fine. Conditioning on hills is wonderful for fitness. If you continue to cross-train he will have the ability to trot for long distances with the fitness added from the hill work. Around here some very experienced endurance riders use hill work almost exclusively in their training program, often leading down long steep trails 100s of feet into the canyons and riding out.

Have fun!!

[kdreger]

The most common and almost always made mistake by novice endurance people is to over condition.
I agree, your guy is more then ready to easily finish a 25 or a slow 50.
To start with spend a bit more time trotting. Add in some cantering during the ride. Enjoy yourself and your nice horse!

[RiderInTheRain]

Thanks for the advice, kdreger and prudence. A nice, slow and steady ride will definitely be my goal the first time out.Time to go look at the calendar of rides in my area and start trying to make some decisions, I think!

[trailpal]

In endurance, there is a heart rate criteria the horse must meet at a vet check before the “hold time” starts. It could be 20 - 30 minutes, sometimes more, sometimes less.

If you come in to the vet check with a heart rate of say, 80 but the criteria (announced at the ride meeting) is say, 64. So you’ll need to cool and rest the horse until his heart rate comes down to 64. if the hold is supposed to be 20 minutes, you don’t get to count the time you spent cooling, the hold clock starts when the vet says your horse has reached criteria.

I crewed at the Old Dominion this year - it was brutally hot and humid. I crewed for 3 horses - two arabs and a morgan. All were in good shape, but it took a lot of icewater and scraping to get the morgan down to criteria. So it would good for you to know your horse’s resting heart rate and how long it takes to recover, either to resting heart rate (often in the area of 30-some beats per minute) or a 60 or 64 bpm as you might run into at a ride.

Your horse does sound very fit, but it’s work checking recoveries.