Best horse for Endurance riding...? (for fun thread)

[michickenwrangler]

Check out www.arabianhorses.org

Go o "Marketplace" and look for Arab for sale, put "endurance" or "trail" for discipline in your state. Also check out Arabian farms. Quite a few in California specialize in endurance horses.

You won't see endurance Arabs at many shows. They tend to be fairly tall raw-boned and big-butted.

Actually, a lot of top endurance horses have been rescued from slaughter or bought for only a few hundred dollars. Some are even show horses that have gone ring sour. It's an excellent second career for horses.

Really you could look anywhere. I originally got my horse for dressage and hunter pleasure. She turned out to really like trail riding so I began to do distance with her. My second horse I bought out of my friend's backyard and she turned out to be an excellent youth horse. Again, a lot of endurance horses here in Michigan started out as rescues or sour show horses.

Basically, you want a good, steady trail horse with a little more get up and go.

Also, do you really want to race and trot and canter or do you just want to putz and drink wine coolers?

 

[Lifesong Farm]

That sounds like a Colonial Spanish Mustang. The true indian pony and Americas first horse.
I just looked at those and it says they are only around 13 hands high... can you imagine my 6'4" boyfriend on a horse 13hh?

C'mon peeps I want the reasoning and logic behind the answers too!

They can be as small as 13h. Just like any other breed. Mine is 14h and still growing. One I will be looking at is 15h. That's like saying all chickens are bantams.

Eta: My mare has had more weight on her back than I would EVER consider on another horse. I did it with the DVM watching to make sure she was ok. We did it as an experiment to see how much she could handle. The endurance riders that have rode these horses have been won over by their stamina. Including Arabian fanatics. The pnoy express riders and indians rode these horses. That's all I need to say about their abilities.

I would also look into a BLM. You are not going to get anything more hardy than one of them. They also have decent stamina and you can get the 16h horse you want that way.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Mules....
can & will carry heavy loads all day
have very strong legs, & as sure-footed as a mountain goat
most come in dark colors
are pretty calm-headed
don't need much food
nothing "delecate" about a mule
Can be fast as lightening

what else do ya need?

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Quote:
I would like to be competitive.

I had a morgan a long time ago and used to want to compete with him, I was up to riding 30 miles a day.

I guess I am so questionative (is that a word) about where to get them because I would have no idea what to look for (ok I have some small idea) I am just so scared of being taken advantage of as a greenhorn... I don't know what to look for when looking AT the horse... that's why I would like to see pics... What to look for what's bad etc...

Do you have websites for any of those places in California? It'd be great to go check some of them out.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

mr. birdaholic :

Mules....
can & will carry heavy loads all day
have very strong legs, & as sure-footed as a mountain goat
most come in dark colors
are pretty calm-headed
don't need much food
nothing "delecate" about a mule
Can be fast as lightening

what else do ya need?

Do mules win endurance competitions?

 

[wood&feathers]

Yes mules do well at endurance riding, but they have separate competitions. They even have show jumping mules.

A friend of mine has fallen in love with Akhal-Tekes for endurance and fox hunting.

 

[Lifesong Farm]

Quote:
Find a trainer or someone who gives lessons that you could get to know and trust to look at horses with you. If you are new to buying you really really want to take someone who knows what they are doing with you. When newbies don't they are more likely to get taken.

 

[michickenwrangler]

I saw a 12hh Appaloosa-mule beat a 15.2hh Appaloosa in a 50 mile endurance ride. No matter how fast the big Appy trotted, the little mule just trotted faster!

They were actually racing in for 5th place, not to win.

Link to Arabian Farm database--can also play around with classified ads too
http://www.arabianhorses.org/marketplace/classified/search_AFD.asp

ENDURANCE HORSE CHECKLIST
Big hooves
Good bone-min. 8 inch cannons, measured circumference right below the knee
Long, sloping shoulder
Big, round hindquarters
Good hocks--not too straight, not too much angle
Deep chest
Short back preferred
Good withers--makes saddle fit easier
Concave hooves preferred. Flat-footed horses do fine with good shoes and/or pads.
Big nostrils
Pasterns that aren't too long--too long = bowed tendons
Lean muscle
Take a stethescope and count heartbeat in a 15 second interval. A good candidate should not have more than 12 heartbeats in that period, although if horse is agitated about something, it could elevate pulse.

ATTITUDE
Alert
Willing
Confident
Eager to go but not uncontrollable
Able to do the usual trail stuff: water, bridges, hills,
Enjoys going on new trails

AVOID
Obvious conformation faults although the little bay mare I had was cow-hocked and never gave her any issues, but she never did anything over 25 miles
Heavy muscling
Horse that breathes a lot or has a high pulse
Sweats easily
Small feet
Skinny legs
Small, weak hindquarters
Stumbles often

Keep in mind that while conformation plays a big role, attitude is usually the most important thing. My gray mare has an upright shoulder but still wins quite a bit. Her heart, lungs and desire to go, go, go trumps her upright shoulder. Horses without withers can wear cruppers to help keep the saddle in place.

I would also look into the American Endurance Ride Conference at www.aerc.org or look into the books by Nancy Loving DVM and Donna Snyder-Smith DVM (I think they're called Go the Distance and Endurance Riding but I can't remember who wrote what)

Hope this helps

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Wow amazing! THANK YOU!!!

Couple questions; how do you FIND someone to work with you when learning about horses?

And, when you go to buy a horse how can you learn about his "attitude"; just by seeing/ riding him a few times can you tell?

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

OMG NO WAY!!! I just found an Arabian farm ON MY STREET!!!