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I whole heartily agree with Joe. Sometimes I think that newcomers build
up endurance in their minds to the point that it becomes a bigger deal
than it really is. I see posts where people describe a months long
training program to get ready to do their first 25 miler. Any Arab, who
is healthy and not extremely obese should be able to do 25 miles cold
turkey with no problems. The same thing is almost true for 50's. If
the horse is ridden sensibly, it doesn't really take much to get one
ready for a completion. Keep in mind that I am talking about
completion, not competition, if you want to go fast, it is a completely
different thing as far as the conditioning required.
I like 100's, so when I am starting a new horse, I have in mind to make
him a 100 miler. Thus I try to make his very first endurance ride a 100
mile ride. This way he knows what is expected of him and what the
preperation for a ride is leading up to. Later on when I finally take
him to a 50, he wonders why we are stopping so soon. For him going to
an endurance ride means doing 100 miles, and anything less is a
disapointment.
For me, endurance riding is for people who genuinely enjoy the company
of their horse. It is the one thing you can do with your horse where
you can spend hours and hours with him and really get to know and
appreciate each other. Endurance riding is just riding your horse, and
nothing gives you more of a chance to do that than a 100 one day ride.
Phil Gardner
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