<<<Why not ask
a horse how much fun he has had during the last 10 miles of a 50 or the
last 30 or so miles of a 100? Ask him where the fine line is- between
enjoying and enduring .Endurance to the extreme is only a worthy goal in
the minds of some humans.All animals avoid it unless it is a matter of
life and death.A spent animal is too vulnerable.Yet in some cases we are
asking ,even demanding,that our mounts commit to this 'goal'on a fairly
routine basis, for purposes that only we can attempt to comprehend>>>
Gord - I agree that finishing an endurance ride on a spent animal is
nothing to brag or feel good about. However, MANY endurance horses
cross the finish line eager to do more. That kind of response is what
we work to get. One of my biggest thrills is to go that last loop of a
50 mile ride on a horse that needs no urging from me, who feels good and
WANTS to go on. His ears are forward and I KNOW that he is enjoying it.
An aside - That 'knowing one's horse' is one thing that I think
separates the jockeys from the real endurance riders and is part of the
essence of our sport. It's why most of us don't hand our horse over to
a professional trainer to condition. The accomplishment is in doing it
yourself and learning about the horse along the way.
A friend told me an interesting story. She recently took 23 hours to
finish a 100 mile ride. They did well but my friend was a bit
saddle-weary. When the vet asked for a trot-out the horse took off like
he had just hit the trail. The vet kidded her that he "would NEVER tell
her to take her time again after seeing her come in with that much horse
left!" Despite a very long time on the trail he was obviously not
'spent', quite likely because of his rider's diligence in caring for
him.
Dave Bennett