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Endurance ride

6 replies

horseylady · 24/06/2012 20:05

i did my second ever endurance ride today! Was really wet and muddy but the horse was brilliant after her initial explosion in the first field. She just settled down and worked! Loads of water, couple of train tracks but a good trot and canter round the 32km meant we finished with a good average speed of 13km/hr :) just struggling to calm her down fast enough to reduce her heart rate to a grade 1 but we got a grade 2!!

Will be taking her hunting once baby arrives and I'm back to riding fitness! Think she's ready now to handle it!

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Butkin · 25/06/2012 22:34

We always fed sugarbeet water - they love to drink that but often won't take plain water. We also gave electrolyte syringes at vet stops (and even at the trot in really long events).

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horseylady · 25/06/2012 20:41

Yeah it is an incredible commitment!! 32k all my aim is ATM!! Crew for us has been brilliant, even if the horse does insist she doesn't need water!!

Still loving dressage but did enjoy yesterday's ride immensely!! I think the horse did as well which was great!

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Butkin · 25/06/2012 19:56

Jolly hard to keep competing at high level with a baby. We were doing up to 100 milers and on horse virtually all day. Jockey and horse had to be super fit. We were taking him for hours on the Newmarket gallops each day with heart rate monitor and GPS. Luckily we had him professionally trained otherwise we'd never have made it.

It is a great sport though and if you work your way through the grades it is really fun once you start the race rides. You need an enthusiastic crew though - for you as well as your horse!

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horseylady · 25/06/2012 18:57

Wow brilliant!!! Not sure I'll do much more than 32k to be honest but enjoying it as part of the rc!! Will see what happens when the baby arrives!! Would like to keep doing a bit!

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Butkin · 25/06/2012 15:44

Marvellous we love doing endurance. We took our arab up to winning a FEI 1 star event and even crewed for team GB at WEG. Have done a pleasure ride with DD and, as life members of EGB, would love to get back into it again seriously if we had the right horse. It was only the birth of DD which made us give up...