Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Maybe instead of arguing amongst ourselves, we should be working on public perception of endurance riding.

 

I've done as much as I can to mentor new people and educate folks. My message board which has some endurance riders, but more nonendurance folks, was a beehive of acitvity and posting all day and night of Tevis as we monitored a member's progress. Itwas a blast and I was thrilled to see such support for her from non endurance folks.

 

BUT, as I was net surfing, I found an exchange about Tevis on another general interest horse board and there were lots of very negative, deragotory comments about endurance riding in general and Tevis in particular.. how abusive it is to horses, etc....I'm sure you've all heard these types of comments.

 

Here's one typical comment:

 

but I'm not sure the Tevis (or the other extremely long races) show less regard for horses' welfare than other equine sports that put a lot of wear and tear on them. There are certainly plenty of barrel racers, cutters, reiners, jumpers, eventers, WP/EP/HP riders -- you can fill in the blank with any discipline -- who take big-hearted, willing horses and ruin them in one short season when they put their egos and need to compete above the welfare of their horses.

The Tevis just compresses it all into one day.

But what the hell do I know? I take my horses to Arabian shows and everybody knows how awful those are.

and another

 

a lot of the Arabians you see in endurance races were NOT bred for it. In fact, I would bet most of them weren't. Quite a few were bred for the race track (e.g., Delaware Park) and weren't fast enough for short distances. Others were bred for show and didn't have the temperament for it or owners lost interest.

There are two reasons there aren't many "endurance" breeders out there.

The first is that you don't have to work too hard at the Arabian genetics to breed an endurance horse. In general, Arabians do well in these races because they are genetically disposed to be able to go long distances. And as much as humans can screw up a breed, they haven't managed to breed those characteristics out of Arabs. There are former halter horses that have completed the Tevis. And everybody knows they're crap. LOL

The second reason is that the endurance riders won't pay a whole lot because Arabs, as a breed, are cheap and they don't have to.

 

I didnt' address either, biting my tongue until it was bloody. People who are this negative will never change their minds.

I don't know how we as a group or as individuals overcome these myths...I'm working on my little corner of the world to do as much education and PR as I can for this sport, but clearly a lot of people, including the Arabian breeder quoted above, are clueless and negative.

 

chris

I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship. Louisa May Alcott

 

Chris Paus

BayRab Acres http://pages.prodigy.net/paus

Lake Region SWA  http://lakeregionswa.fws1.com