Calling endurance riders!

Endurance is fun! But grueling.

I believe when you're really going the distance like that, ten to eighteen miles a day is a reasonable pace. But of course, there are a lot of variables.

On the other hand, horses regularly do a hundred in a day at rides like Tevis or Big Horn. But those horses don't do much the following week.

The average ride length in the US is fifty miles. Twenty-five miles are also common.

A month of riding is a long time. Starting question is whether the rider needs to bring supplies or whether he'll be stopping at someplace with supplies every night?

Next question is how much does the rider need to protect the horse? Would a replacement horse be available if the first horse injures itself?

Ten miles a day for thirty days will get you 300 miles. The longest endurance race now is the Shahzada, 250 miles in about 30 hours.

Here's a nice website for a quick review of some of the long trips taken on horses -- http://www.thelongridersguild.com/history-of-ET-2012.htm

Figure out your distance and your support structure and then we can give you an idea of how to do it.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

There was a rider who left San Francisco to either Portland or Seattle who rode at a fast pace. I'll have to see whether I can find the information.

Anyway, if I was going 850 miles with a supply place somewhere in the middle, here's how I'd approach it. Equipment would be a hoof pick, about ten pounds of jerky and biscuits, a slicker, maybe a coffee pot and some coffee, and twenty pounds of grain. Not much more than that in supplies.

One horse ridden and the other horse led naked. About every three hours I'd get off an walk about a mile or so. Horses' pace would be mainly walking, some trotting and some loping. Aim would be an average of a minimum of 5 to 6 miles an hour. I should be able to get to the halfway point in about three days, riding 24 hours per day. Sleep would be in the saddle, and a short break of a couple of hours each night.

At the halfway point, take 24 hours off, then finish the ride, ideally swapping out the horses at that point. You've got to be good at assessing your horses. And I'm going to be beating the horses into the ground. In the end, they're going to need two or three months off. They'll probably lose a hundred or more pounds.

But I could do it in about seven or eight days. None of us will be very happy, but it's doable.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

I'd like to second JCD's advice on walking yourself and expand on it.

I never actually competed in endurance rides, but I did train for them.

If you're not trotting, the accepted wisdom was to walk yourself whenever possible. There's no point in tiring the horse if you can go as fast as it can. Endurance riders quite often wear sneakers instead of boots because they're easier to walk in.

Cantering is to be avoided; it tires the horse. And it's easier on the horse (and rider) if you post a trot.

You'd want a lightweight saddle. Endurance saddles are all chosen for the lightest weight possible. If you aren't that specialized in your tack, English would be better than Western, although they have a distressing lack of places to attach packs. Still, I did a lot of miles in my English saddle.

As to mileage, there are so many variables. First, the best bet is usually to start with an Arab horse, or an Arab cross. Although the Tevis (which is run in my neighborhood) has been ridden successfully by people on mules.

Also, the terrain is a huge factor. Are you crossing the plains or the Sierras? Is there water regularly available? Grass?

If the terrain is not too difficult and you and your horse are fit, twenty to twenty-five miles a day is a reasonable goal. It would depend on how badly you had to get there, and whether you were attached to your horse and wanted to avoid permanently damaging him/her in the process. I've heard of others going farther. I assume you're not worried about passing vet checks.

And you ALWAYS want to check your horse's feet frequently. A stone can get in there, even if they're shod, and bruise the foot. If they are shod (and most are), I know of many riders who carried what everyone called booties, although I'm sure there is a more formal name for the thing. It fit over the horse's entire hoof, and functioned as a temporary shoe, in case your horse threw one.

I'd carry pellets instead of grain, but my horses weren't used to grain much. A lot of it is what diet horses are used to. Some of them colic whenever they have a diet change.

Hope this helps.

You switch horses every two to six hours. It depends upon the horses. I'd probably switch every time I got off.

Depending upon the horse, either uphill or downhill will be harder on them. Some riders like to control the horse's pace on slopes, my view is the horse knows what feels best. But the best approach to slopes is to avoid them. Riding three times as far but avoiding slopes is a worthwhile detour.

Water crossings are not much of an issue for the horses. Concern is whether the bottom is too rocky with a lot of current. Horses that are used to it swim, and some of them really like it. A lot of horses in shallower water will have a desire to roll.

Dry grass has lost a bit of nutritional value and will need more water to properly digest. Other than that, horses are fine with dry grass. Horses are fussy eaters, and like to travel to find the good stuff. In the wild, horses are known to travel 40 - 50 miles a day for graze and water.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe