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Re: [RC] Where to start/tools - Jim HollandRiding alone is when you teach a horse all the "tools" and "cues" he needs to handle the trail, to hold a speed, deal with hills, etc. It's also where you develop the "bond" that causes him to "defer" to you before losing his cool. It's also important, as Penny pointed out, that you ride with others as well. Horses best learn things in tiny steps. Going from riding alone to the mass chaos (from the horse's perspective) and excitement of an Endurance Ride will stress the most well behaved horse. An interim step to help the horse become accustomed to leaving and being left is easier if you have a ride buddy to help you train, rather than just going out in a "herd". For one way of doing this, check out Article 6 (new) at: http://www.seraonline.org/Training/Training%20For%20Endurance.htm My two horses are a study in contrast because of the way I trained them. Sunny was intensely trained in dealing with this because I had an Endurance Rider ride buddy. Although excited, he was listening, handled his first ride really well, and Top Tenned his second. Magic on the other hand didn't have that opportunity. He had the "riding alone" training...lots of it, but I had no way to train with another horse. He was a basket case on his first ride. I spent more time on the ground working on ground mannners than in the saddle, and I quit on time after about 35 miles. Although he is a better Endurance Horse prospect than Sunny, it will be quite a while before I will let him even THINK about doing more than just completing. I will have to take the time to teach him AT rides....not my first choice. I don't think you can train for eating and drinking, other than "encouraging" it out on the trail. IMHO, it helps if the first rides you attend have an "early" vet check, at least within the first 15 miles. Getting to stop, relax, and see all those horses standing around eating and drinking encourages your horse to do likewise. If you go a long time without a vet check, a really "uptight" horse can get into a deficit that he never recovers from, even if he does start EDPP later. Jim, Sun of Dimanche+, and Mahada Magic sharp penny wrote: Thanks, Frank :D This was pretty much what I was tryin' to get across in a rather round about way... Basically I was trying to say you really can't guage your horse well until you actually do endurance rides and use them as conditioning/training tools to enhance and round out the basic knowledge you've gained through the *at home* rides. As far as the training alone vs training in groups I feel both are equally important in your *program*. Yes training alone helps develope that horse/ rider bond, as Truman mentioned, where your horse learns to depend on you..... but I sure wouldn't want to do an endurance ride without having some group training rides under my horses girth, where I've had the opportunity work on passing, being passed and letting the group leave me and my horse behind.... things you will encounter on an endurance ride, even if you plan and try to ride alone. I can only speak for myself and my horse but, the more actual endurance rides I use as training rides the better my horse becomes. At each endurance ride he gets alittle better at eating , drinking, listening to me, and begins to actually use his brain sooner. I can't work on these things at home rides where the stress level is low and get the same results and improvements without that "endurance frenzy". =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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