reply to: LD Vs. Endurance

[mark@madbbs.com]

<<think that ALL
riders who want to get into any type of "trail riding competition" be it,
endurance,   etc. should HAVE to have at least 1 year of "competitive trail",
before being allowed to do "endurance riding"  I'm sorry, but there are NONE
of us that know everything about taking care of a horse, trail manners,
sportsmanship, horsemanship, etc>>

 

I am not 'flaming' you - I don't do that - I do, however have a different opinion.  That just makes us different, not one right and the other 'flamed'!  This is not an LD vs. Endurance issue as it is CTR vs. endurance.  Let me preface this with the fact that I have over 4000 endurance miles and over 1000 competitive miles, including NATRC and ECTRA. --

 

The issue: I have seen many CRT and NATRC horses allowed to leave checks or to continue on multiday rides, that were not sound.  Points were deducted and the judges whispered over it, but no one talked to the rider about the problem, much less, tried to solve it.  In some cases, inexperienced riders were not even told that their horses were off. This absolutely would not happen at an endurance ride.  The horse who is 'off' is examined, it is talked about with the rider, decisions are made, and many times, the lameness is diagnosed.

 

Recently I rode a NATRC two day 60.  My horse was not quite sound after the first day though the vet judge called him sound.  My husband who is a vet spent three minutes with the horse and found a swelling in his volar sheath.  I withdrew him.  Had I been a novice rider and didn't know, I would have rode him 30 miles the next day and probly hurt him.

 

If I had been on an endurance ride, I would have been required to do a CRI, which would have (I did my own) shown that my horse was hurt.  As it was, there was no Cardiac Recovery Index.  I have never been asked to do a CRI on a NATRC or ECTRA ride, and this simple test of Cardiac Recovery is the very best tool for early detection of problems in the horse.  It is common if not manditory at all stops and finish of endurance rides.

 

I do feel that endurance rides are conducive to teaching, it is just different than the teaching at CTRs.  If you are new to HORSES, CTR is a good place to start, but I feel that if you are fairly comfortable with your horsemanship knowledge (not that we all don't learn all our lives) I think that starting in endurance is ok.  We are all different and like different things.  I obviously prefer endurance, but as i have said on ridecamp before, I am happy going down the trail, so I enter any ride that is easy for me to get to.  Give me the rules and I will play with a smile on my face, but I do disagree that doing endurance is dangerous or negligent for the newbie.

 

Laura Hayes

 

NE AERC#2741