Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Ridecampers,

I agree with the quote from ridecamp about how
training and conditioning is one of our best tools to
prevent crashes, but overtrained horses are, IMO just
as, and maybe more susceptible to crashing than 
undertrained ones.  They say you are more likely to
finish on an undertrained horse than an overtrained
one, that has certainly been my experience.    

With all the emphasis on FEI level riding and the
shadow of possible Olympic inclusion looming overhead,
I just see too many people these days with overtrained
horses that go pedal to the metal all the time at
rides, and either place high, or "crash and burn". 
Sometimes it's just a regular uneventful pull, but
other times the horse has to be treated, either at the
ride, or later at home when it colics, etc. or ends up
with a lameness that won't clear up with rest,
sometimes a turning out to be a permanent injury. 
It's a shame to see good horses get ruined because of
ignorance and/or the quest for glory.

I think Karen Chaton's series on 10 year horses is one
of the best things going right now!  Why can't
everybody have that goal?  Is it worth ruining a
horse's soundness for endurance or worse, just to win
for a few seasons?  Is that the model we want to
promote or reward?  Shouldn't we be encouraging and
rewarding the ten year horse idea more?  

I say the best tool we have to protect endurance
horses is KNOWLEDGE and EDUCATION.  I think we need
more clinics geared to endurance riders, and not just
for beginners!  The types of speakers we have at the
convention should be available at clinics around the
country all the time, so that more people can benefit
from their expertise and learn what it takes to be
successful and not hurt their horses. 

The sport is growing really fast and attracting a lot
of new, very competitive people.  Its seems to me that
when I was starting out in the late 70's their were
more clinics.  UC Davis put on a really great one, two
days long with experienced speakers on every subject
from choosing a horse, to conditioning, to feeding,
with all the latest information.  I later went to a
two day clinic where we brought our horses and
listened to seminars the first day, and went out in
small groups, each with experienced riders the second
day, to apply what we had learned.  I learned about
pacing, taking my P&R's, etc.  

Later, when I was a long-listed FEI rider, I got to go
to three days of Centered Riding and sports psychology
put on by the USET.  This was invaluable for me.  They
have added even more subjects since, for FEI level
riders, the kinds of things that would attract the
more experienced riders if clinics like this were put
on for everybody.  Also, my NATRC background really
prepared me for endurance by teaching me PACING most
of all, and the care of my horse on the trail.  That
was back when there were more of them than endurance
rides, and they were more challenging and more fun,
attracting plenty of crossover from endurance.  Now
hardly any endurance people do NATRC, it's two
different camps, which is kind of a shame.  

Preparation and homework is well and good if you
really know what you're doing.  Too many relative
newcomers don't, and don't realize how much they have
to learn.  

Judy Houle,EBW
Maximum Equine
Muscle Therapy
Tevis Trail Training   


       
               
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There is something really special about getting to ride all day, and all
night on your horse. I know that a lot of people like to get finished, and
get it over with. Yes, it is a lot of work. But, realize that each ride,
especially a 100 is a really special gift and savor it for all it is worth. 
~  Karen Chaton

ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/

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