HORSES AND TACK

[chickenoverlord]

Does anyone do competitive trail riding?

 

[Rookie Raiser]

I do!

 

[Rookie Raiser]

I do!

 

[ThistleRidgeGA]

i agree for the most part about the joined bits. however, i have off the track thoroughbreds, so for them when riding English style i use the usual egg butt snaffle, but for the western (which i do when training them) i use a thiner snaffle bit with a chain on it just because with the ottbs you need a little more control.

My friend can ride her [very special] OTTB and her other OTTB in a halter and lead rope.


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I am thinking about competitive trail riding: looks fun

 

[Rookie Raiser]

I can do the same with one of mine. But one is only 7 months off the track so he is still a little green. I can ride my other bareback (with a pad cuz he has a bonier back)

 

[Rookie Raiser]

I also can with my Missouri Fox Trotter

 

[chickenoverlord]

Jitterbug is older but in very good shape. Would he be suitable for competitive trail riding?

 

[michickenwrangler]

Jitterbug is older but in very good shape. Would he be suitable for competitive trail riding?

I do competitive trail under UMECRA rules, which is basically endurance since we get even LESS time to complete our miles than endurance riders do (5 hrs, 25 minutes for a 25 miler vs. 6 hours for endurance riders). Ohio comp riders always make jokes about the Michigan rides.

If he's in very good shape, you could probably do a 15 mile novice ride to start. It will give you an idea of how he will handle longer distances and you can see how the more experienced riders "ride the rides".

Unlike endurance, there is no "national" organization for competitive trail rides. There is the new ACTA (American Competitive Trail Assoc.) but they are fairly new on the scene and don't offer many rides yet. Also, because I am used to very fast-paced rides, I would probably be bored witless at one of their slower, obstacle based rides. NATRC (North American Trail Ride Conference) mostly sanctions rides out west and in the south. ECTRA (Eastern Competitive Trail Ride Assoc) does the east coast. SEDRA (South Eastern Distance Riding Assoc) does the southeast. Middle of the Trail (MOTDRA) does the central US (TX, KS, MO, OK). UMECRA (Upper Midwest Endurance and Competitive Rides Assoc) does the upper midwest/Great Lakes. OAATS (Ohio Arabian and All-breed Trail System) does Ohio. And unfortanately each one has their own set of rules.

If you are riding your horse for 1 hr+ 4 times a week or so, he could probably handle the shorter distances 15-25 just fine, although I would recommend starting with a 12-15 mile novice ride. Do you go up and down a lot of hills? Through deep sand? Can he go through rivers? Navigate switchbacks? Make sure he's familiar with the type of terrain he will encounter in the competition. The AERC hosted their 50 mile champ ride in Michigan one year. A lot of out of state riders scoffed, because there were no "real hills" in central Michigan. Nope, but there's a lot of DEEP SAND. A lot of horses were pulled because they were pulling tendons, getting rubbed raw because sand got under splint boots and for metabolic reasons (running through deep sand takes a toll on your cardiovascular sustem). In reverse, Michigan riders have problems in southern Ohio because of the sticky clay there. The Arabian Horse Association champ ride was in Florida one year, a lot of horses from the northern states pulled due to humidity.

The best way to condition for long distance riding is LSD (long, slow distance) by just doing lots of walking. Once the base is established, you can start working on speed and cardiovascular system.

I've been distance riding since 2000. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[chickenoverlord]

Thanks! He crosses water, he does hills, I'm pretty sure he can do sand, cause he does deep mud. But I dont know exactly what a switchback is... My main concern for him is that he has a thick coat, especially for an Arabian. This, in turn, makes him sweat alot, especially if he has to canter or gallop (which he LOVES) he will DRIP sweat. Also, I'm familiar with the ECTRA rules, because that is who I'll be riding with. Hopefully, poor jitterbug won't keel over if I play this right, lol.;-)

 

[michickenwrangler]

If he's sweating a lot, you may need to get him in condition a little more.

Some horses do sweat more than others, but he'll have problems with dehydration and electrolyte imbalance if he sweats too much.

I would recommend getting a hold of ECTRA and find out if there is a mentor or experienced rider in your area to help get you started. They will teach you a lot of the little stuff like making sure your horse gets shade during P/R checks and where the best places to put buckets at vet checks are, when you should ask for rechecks, tips on making your window, etc...

Sand and deep mud are very different. If you're in the ECTRA region, you probably don't have to worry deep sand too much, but many miles of deep sand will really wear down a horse if they're not used to it.

You may want to invest in a stethescope (you can get one at the pharmacy for $10). Take his pulse (for 15 seconds) frequently. Keep a record of it over 2 weeks or so. Once you know what his average is,trot him for 20 min or so, especially over hills. Then stop, abruptly, NO COOL DOWN. Wait 10 minutes and take his pulse. Most systems do it 15-second increment pulse. See what it is compared to his standing pulse.

I don't know what ECTRA's parameter us, but in UMECRA, anything over 9 for 15 seconds gets docked points. Luckily my mare is a bit of a genetic aberration and if she gets higher than a 9, it's rare, which is why we do so well. He should hopefully be in the range of 8-12 for standing, and 8-15 for 10 minutes after work. I think ECTRA is 11 or 12 for it's point loss cutoff.

Ex:
Catch horse, groom him
Take pulse for 15 seconds (let's say it's a 10)
Saddle & mount & stick stethescope in saddlebag
Warm-up
Trot for 10 minutes
Stop
Stand with horse for 10 minutes
Take pulse (let's say it's a 12)

OK, it's a little higher than his standing, but it's still not a bad thing to be 1-3 beats higher after work. This means he's probably in great shape. If it were a 15, you would probably need to condition a little more. If it were 18, I would condition a lot more. If it were higher than this, the vets would start to worry.

Granted in actual competition, things happen (like teenagers on dirt bikes revving past while the junior rider you are sponsoring is getting her p/r done because they ignored the detour signs because of the competition--this really happened. Poor mare got a 13/5. We asked for a recheck, but she was still jittery, so it didn't come down).

But make sure you get a "baseline" established before you start taking it AFTER a workout.

EX.
M- 11
T- 12
W- 11
R- 12
F- 11
S- 11
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68 divide by 6 (6 days) = 11.3 so his baseline would be 11. Which means for the 10 minute after check, you would want his pulse to be under 14.