You wrote:
> I am sorry if any of my words or statements on my posts have
> been sarcastic or rude. I guess it all started with me when I
> seen some posts that said their Arabians had heart but no brains.
No offense taken. No apology necessary.
> I have loved the Arabian breed every since I was a little girl.
> Too many people (I live in Quarter Horse country) have nothing
> good to say about Arabians. So I get very defensive about the
> breed.
You need to know that endurance is 80% Arabians. People w/ other
breeds meet the same prejudice in endurance as you find having Arabs
in QH country! My husband rides a QH/TB cross. He is seldom given
the benefit of the doubt since some judges/vets feel that a QH
shouldn't be able to do this sport! My current horse is a nice, sane
Arab gelding. He seldom encounters the problems & comments from the
vet that the other horse does.
> My judgements come from my years of experience with them.
> I trained my first Arabian to ride when I was 14 years old and
> even though I have trained other breeds I enjoy the Arabians
> the most.
While not everyone is very experienced, there are impressive resume's
on this list too! I've ridden Arabs, QH, Saddlebreds, Standardbreds,
TB's, Morgans for the last 33 years. I've ridden on college teams
and participated in every equine aspect of riding/driving with the
exception of TN Walkers & MO Foxtrotters. I've ridden endurance for
16 years now. There are a large # of us who have participated in
showing, etc. and found trail riding to be more fun. Just because we
choose trail does not mean we are uneducated backyard horsemen...
Quite the opposite is true in most cases.
>The rider needs to get a feel for the horse
> on what he can handle and where he is at. If you have your horse in
> a lope and you feel that he is tireing, he will tell you that by the way he is
> moving. When you move out of that lope you have made a team decision.
> You have listened to the horse and what he wants and you have decided
> that you agree with your horse and you both move out of the lope at
> YOUR cue, because you are the head of the team. And as the head
> of the team you make the final decision as to what is best for the team.
As you get into longer distances at more intense speeds, the horse
will tire before he shows signs IN ANY WAY that he is tired. This
includes attitude, speed, way of moving. Watch a heart monitor,
temperature probe, check electrolytes and lactic acid build up. The
changes are taking place on a cellular and metabolic level before
they are ever expressed. To be successful, the horse has to be able
to make decisions on his way of moving out at your set speed. He
knows what is happening to his body before you can ever have a clue.
You asked if folks were top 10 riders! I remember talking to Becky
Hart at ROC several years ago (previous world champion!). She has
followed the "choose the speed, let the horse choose the gait" rationale.
I can't speak for any others. I have been a top ten rider in the past - I am not
now because I am bringing along a youngster who needs a (or possibly
several) seasons of slow rides to bring him to his potential. I hope
to be a top ten rider again in the future either with this horse if
he's is able, or another if he is not. Not every horse is up to the
stresses of this sport. I don't bring in overly fatigued horses.
Perhaps my way of managing the horses has something to do with it.
Lord knows, I can't afford "made" horses or those with the
"impressive" endurance backgrounds in their pedigrees.
Our mishaps have been accidents that would have been unavoidable in
this sport. (Sometimes there is a rock with your name on it. Other
days, the finish jumps up to meet you!)
My horses will be well mannered on the trail & they will go at my
speed, but they will move out at the <gait> at which they are most
comfortable & expend the least amount of energy.
Linda Flemmer
ABF Challenger ("Rocket") & Eternal Point ("Major")
Blue Wolf Equestrian Supplies/ Blue Wolf Ranch
Chesapeake, VA
"In case of emergency - Fur side up, steel side down!"