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[RC] Great Santa Fe Horse Race - Laney HumphreyHi Suzanne,
As you suspected, you are indeed getting lots of advice! And you are
probably now more confused that ever. You don't say where you live, but
if you live close enough to make getting to the AERC convention in
Reno/Sparks, NV in Feb. a possibility, there is more endurance "stuff"
there in one place than you'll ever seen anywhere else. It is a
fantastic opportunity to shop, try on, ask questions, etc. And, since
there are lots of folks there, you can ask questions and get answers.
At this point, my main concerns are:
1. that you can actually enter as an individual. From what I've heard,
I don't think you can, that's why I suggested you look at the webpage.
2. Just because you plan to enter 2 endurance rides this spring, doesn't
mean that you will complete them, so have a back-up plan!
The best test of how your equipment will work for you and your horse is
to actually do rides. In my opinion, the perfect test would be a
multi-day ride! It will give you and your horse the opportunity to
experience riding day after day and it will also give you the chance to
experience what it takes to get ready to ride day after day. The best
benefit however, is that your horse gets stronger and stronger during
the course of the 5 days.
Body Glide, anti Monkey Butt powder, vaseline and gazillions of other
products all work for some people for some times. I live on the
California coast but I do a lot of high desert rides. Products and
clothes that work for me at home are useless on those rides and vice
versa because the conditions are so different. BTW, I can no long use
half chaps on desert rides after getting severe heat rash over many days
of riding in the desert but I can use them at home when it's foggy
during poison oak season. I thought I'd really miss them when I had to
stop wearing them, but I haven't at all. Lots of people do wear them so
it really is a matter of personal preference.
Another lesson learned from desert rides and XP01: carry your water on
your body because if you and your horse get separated it won't do either
of you any good if it's on him. So your rumpus should be covered with a
fanny pack holding 2 bottles of water, an emergency first aid kit,
toiletry items you must have, a knife, etc. Plus you will surely have a
cantle pack behind your saddle where you'll have a jacket, maybe some
carrots or apples, e'lytes if you use them, a spare easyboot, etc. So,
your rumpus will be very well disguised without the big shirt!
Something else just occurred to me: what kind of horse hauling/living
arrangement do you have? The website makes a big deal of the race
villages but I've found it is so much better to be self contained and
not have to depend on finding what I need from someone else. From my
experience, multi-day riders go slower than riders on one day events do.
That means you finish your riding day later and therefore have less
time to care for your horse and yourself and to get ready for the next
day. Wandering around the village hunting for what you need, wastes a
lot of time. Ideally, you would bring all the beet pulp and feed you
will need with you from the beginning as well as a good supply of hay
and water. Many multi-dayers would agree with me that the riding is the
easy part; the planning, organizing and management are the hard parts!
LaneySuzanne Avery DVM wrote: Laney, =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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