Endurance riding is enjoying a surge of growth worldwide. It’s an exciting time where records are being made at all distances. At the same time there are horses accumulating staggering annual and lifetime miles. What is going on that all of a sudden allows the best horses to go much further and faster? There are advanced conditioning methods that progressively build these horses to incredible fitness. There are new feeds and supplements that will supply the energy to fuel these extreme athletes. There have been advances made in shoeing, riding and tack that will tip the bar more in your favor. There are a thousand seemingly tiny details that shave minutes off race times. The horses that are racing at this high level are athletes of the highest sort. Their riders have selected them based on these qualities. Where does a rider go for knowledge beyond the ABC stuff that is available to progress past the mid pack 50-mile stage?
There are hundreds of books for someone who desires to improve their running or biking skills. People can sort through volumes of info and find nuggets that with effort improve their performance. Endurance riders on the other hand have very little info available. Much of the discussion at conventions, online and the books available are geared for the rank beginner. I hope to touch on the subjects that can most help riders prepare themselves and their horses reach their desired goals. If that goal is to select a super horse and prepare him to someday run with the big dogs, great. If you have a seasoned horse that will never set the world on fire but wants to try and get 50 milers done before happy hour, that’s great too. Everyone has their goals and limitations toward achieving those goals. I will try to give you ammunition toward that end.
I picked the title 4th Gear for an important reason. When you hit 4th Gear in a Ferrari you may be at 130 mph and accelerating. Later get on your mountain bike and in 4th gear you may top out at 12 mph. Speed is relative to the individual, some horses (and riders) have quite different potential for speed. The trick is to determine our potential and goals. Then use all the tools in our bag of tricks to eventually achieve them.
I will cover many subjects, some in more detail than others. My intent is for you to begin thinking in certain directions. I will try to touch on subjects you may have given little thought to before that can improve performance. The rest is up to you to make the correct move in the thousands of little situations and challenges you encounter. In math there are formulas that once learned everyone can reach the same conclusion. Endurance racing is at its best more art than science. Each of us will come up with different solutions to our own situations in our own way.
Just like us, our horses vary greatly in athletic ability and potential performance. I therefore try to describe conditioning methods without throwing a bunch of heart rate, mph or distance numbers at you. Your job as a horseman is to plug in these details with your horse’s particular assets, liabilities and present level of fitness in mind. You might get tired of hearing me talk of tapping your inner horseman to make the right decision. Think about it though, how many rocket scientists do you see winning endurance races? Science is great and there are formulas and tests to blend the perfect electrolyte for your horse and such. The winning riders I have been around are smart enough, don’t get me wrong. I think the quality that sets them apart from the field though is their intuition or horse sense that tells them instinctively how their horse is doing or what he may need. They communicate with their horse in the subtlest ways. They can see the qualities in a serious horse from 100 feet away.
Try to cultivate your horse sense through your experiences. Stay open to new ideas, continue to learn and grow. Stalk the good riders and horses from a distance and see what makes them good. Get outside your comfort zone and experiment. That’s another quality I have observed in many top riders. They are always experimenting to improve their feed, training, shoeing and so forth. They have great attention to detail and the ability to recognize what works well and what does not.
I think we are all very fortunate to be able to work with these most extreme athletes, the endurance horses. They are capable with proper preparation to accomplish unbelievable feats of strength and speed. They are dependent on us to provide the best care and preparation we can provide. Let’s do everything in our power to allow them to reach their potential. It can be a long and tough journey, but the rewards are great. The feeling of finishing 100 miles with your 4-legged best friend still strong and happy makes all the effort worthwhile. Enjoy the whole enchilada along the way, the day-to-day feeding, conditioning and overall living with your horse. The end result will be great but the whole journey with your horse is an experience to cherish. Let’s get started with this thing.
There are hundreds of books for someone who desires to improve their running or biking skills. People can sort through volumes of info and find nuggets that with effort improve their performance. Endurance riders on the other hand have very little info available. Much of the discussion at conventions, online and the books available are geared for the rank beginner. I hope to touch on the subjects that can most help riders prepare themselves and their horses reach their desired goals. If that goal is to select a super horse and prepare him to someday run with the big dogs, great. If you have a seasoned horse that will never set the world on fire but wants to try and get 50 milers done before happy hour, that’s great too. Everyone has their goals and limitations toward achieving those goals. I will try to give you ammunition toward that end.
I picked the title 4th Gear for an important reason. When you hit 4th Gear in a Ferrari you may be at 130 mph and accelerating. Later get on your mountain bike and in 4th gear you may top out at 12 mph. Speed is relative to the individual, some horses (and riders) have quite different potential for speed. The trick is to determine our potential and goals. Then use all the tools in our bag of tricks to eventually achieve them.
I will cover many subjects, some in more detail than others. My intent is for you to begin thinking in certain directions. I will try to touch on subjects you may have given little thought to before that can improve performance. The rest is up to you to make the correct move in the thousands of little situations and challenges you encounter. In math there are formulas that once learned everyone can reach the same conclusion. Endurance racing is at its best more art than science. Each of us will come up with different solutions to our own situations in our own way.
Just like us, our horses vary greatly in athletic ability and potential performance. I therefore try to describe conditioning methods without throwing a bunch of heart rate, mph or distance numbers at you. Your job as a horseman is to plug in these details with your horse’s particular assets, liabilities and present level of fitness in mind. You might get tired of hearing me talk of tapping your inner horseman to make the right decision. Think about it though, how many rocket scientists do you see winning endurance races? Science is great and there are formulas and tests to blend the perfect electrolyte for your horse and such. The winning riders I have been around are smart enough, don’t get me wrong. I think the quality that sets them apart from the field though is their intuition or horse sense that tells them instinctively how their horse is doing or what he may need. They communicate with their horse in the subtlest ways. They can see the qualities in a serious horse from 100 feet away.
Try to cultivate your horse sense through your experiences. Stay open to new ideas, continue to learn and grow. Stalk the good riders and horses from a distance and see what makes them good. Get outside your comfort zone and experiment. That’s another quality I have observed in many top riders. They are always experimenting to improve their feed, training, shoeing and so forth. They have great attention to detail and the ability to recognize what works well and what does not.
I think we are all very fortunate to be able to work with these most extreme athletes, the endurance horses. They are capable with proper preparation to accomplish unbelievable feats of strength and speed. They are dependent on us to provide the best care and preparation we can provide. Let’s do everything in our power to allow them to reach their potential. It can be a long and tough journey, but the rewards are great. The feeling of finishing 100 miles with your 4-legged best friend still strong and happy makes all the effort worthwhile. Enjoy the whole enchilada along the way, the day-to-day feeding, conditioning and overall living with your horse. The end result will be great but the whole journey with your horse is an experience to cherish. Let’s get started with this thing.