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[RC] Questions on mounted posse/endurance long but please read - chrismichele Turney
Wow I have a lot to say on this subject. I had an Arab named Scotchtape (Scotty now called on the Orange County Mounted Patrol) who started in endurance. Mostly trained with "training rides" as they used to call them and then on endurance rides. At about the 250 mark on endurance rides he started to "settle in". I decided out of guilt to put him in mounted training (we got a stipend and a write off at the end of the year). At that time the only trainer in the country (P.O.S.T. certified) was Dennis Reis. Dennis was a small time trainer ( mid 1990's) and would work with all the mounted patrols across California to get the horses ready for crowd control, flares firecrackers etc. For Scotty and all the other mounted horses his training methods were great! The mounted patrol as of last year is number one in the state!That horse would stand with the flares going, helicopters landing etc.
However my "crazy Arabs" did not get on the mounted unit without a lot of teasing...
There was a lot of "yahoos" that started with our mounted group that had only ridden quarter horses, Friday night team penning etc... imagine the flak from this group. When we would go out for fun rides, the guys would have ropes around their saddle horns with a beer in one hand and reins in the other.. Ha the funniest memory is that my ex-husband and I did a practice ride and tie while we went out trail riding with these guys.. imagine the beers sloshing and ropes flapping as they tried to keep up..
The mounted Sergeant at the time was skeptical about our "crazy Arabs" being on the mounted. As usual I did my homework and presented to the whole mounted group a paper on calvary horses that used Arabs. We received a new found respect for the "crazy Arabs" and things suddenly changed.
In your situation I would suggest that you start out with the Dennis Reis mounted training methods (they are for sale on his website). There will be no surprises for your horse on his testing, you will have an excellent horse for endurance. The biggest and most wonderful training tool he has is the big ball.. for some reason that really desensitizes the horse from virtually everything. For those of you that want to go on a mounted patrol this ball is wonderful for crowd control! Dale Lake and I have talked a lot about starting out a new horse and I have come to the conclusion with my new horse that a combination of the Dennis Reis method and some NATRC rides I will have a horse that will not only take care of both of us.
Not only do I recommend his training methods for mounted, but also for endurance horses. I have had nothing short of success with his methods for all my horses-Good Luck!
Chris and Michele Turney
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