Egads - another LD opinion

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

Jennifer Heim cowgirl_30_98@yahoo.com
Hi all – been gone for awhile, had back surgery and started a new job.

However, after seeing the limited distance debate come up again for what seems to be the zillionth time since I started ridecamp four years ago, I feel that I have to “bite the bullet” and give…. YET ANOTHER OPINION!!  ;^)

I - and my clients - consider myself a professional horseman.  I have saddle-trained colts for fifteen years and have competed in endurance, NATRC, dressage, open reining, stock work, hunt seat, park, prelim & training level eventing, and even the boring ring eq & pleasure classes.  I have worked with soft horses, fit horses and everything in between.  I don’t have many miles in endurance (around 900), but when I do compete, it’s on a horse that I know what he’s capable (and uncapable) of doing.

An open reiner, a 1st level dressage horse and any eventing horse can be taken from his normal duties and taken in a limited distance event, with very little to *no* trail training.  In the course of their own sport, they are fit enough to safely complete a limited distance ride and look very good at the end of it.  The really good event horses have been known to (so called) win and/or BC these LD events.  Also (and you know who you are! <vbg>), some very, very talented riders can take a “pasture potato” and because of their riding and horsemanship, can get this unfit horse to complete a LD ride.

That being said, in my experience, a 50-miler is beyond these performance horses without a good deal of trail conditioning work.  There are some that can do it, but they’re pretty sore and don’t look at all like what a 50-mile horse should look at the end of a ride.  That’s my difference between *endurance* and *limited distance*.  One is considered a novice event.  One is for the trail-fit horses.  It all depends on the homework that a rider does with the horse.  My clients’ prelim horse is an eventing horse and he’s strong and fit.  He can complete a limited distance event tomorrow if I asked him.  However, I do not consider him an endurance horse because he can complete 25 miles in under 4 hours.  His owners might, but I don’t.  When he’s fit enough to do a hard 50, I start thinking “hmmm, maybe he’s an endurance horse, too.”

The endurance training group I used to ride with has taken green-to-endurance riders/horses and within a number of hard-working months, these folks and their horses are competing in 50 mile events.  And I don’t mean completing, I mean competing.  When they are fit enough, they’ll do 30 miles for their weekend ride.  Some have since won 50s, top-tenned in some very nasty 100s, have qualified for Pan Am and they have fit endurance horses because of the homework they do.

That, in my opinion, is an endurance horse.  Go ahead, knock me out, I’ve got benefits now and don’t bruise easily.  Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can’t hurt me (but that 4yo Hannovarian is doing a damn good job).

Cya
Jennifer & Astro (soon to be an LD horse for experience and then onto 50s when he’s ready)
The Colt Kindergarten & Obedience School for Equines

P.S.  To all that haven’t heard from me in awhile, reply and give me your emails!  I lost ‘em all!


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