Why should you try endurance riding?

In honor of our new partnership with Green Bean Endurance, Two Horse Tack is continuing a series of endurance-themed posts here on our blog, which are aimed specifically at those who aren’t currently endurance riders. Enjoy!

If you’re not one of our many customers who participates in endurance riding with your horse, you might think that it’s a sport unto itself, or that it’s not possible to just “dabble” in an intense discipline like endurance riding. Maybe you’ve heard it’s only a sport for people with Arabians or half-Arabians, or that you have to own certain equipment to participate.

We’re here to tell you that in fact, endurance riding is a great form of cross-training, it’s easy to find a starter ride near you, and there are lots of reasons you should give it a try!

• Develop stamina: No matter what you and your horse do full-time, endurance riding is a good way to build condition so that you can better participate in your full-time sport. Green Bean has some great posts to get your horse started on a conditioning program. It’s also a great way to train yourself–all those miles in the saddle will definitely improve your muscles and aerobic capacity
• New skills for your horse: Endurance riding requires you and your horse to deal with obstacles on the trail, different surfaces, and different weather condition. It will require the horse to learn to both lead and follow in a group. Endurance horses must trot in hand, stand well for the veterinarian, and become comfortable eating, drinking, and camping in various scenarios.
• New skills for you: You’ll need to learn basically useful skills like taking your horse’s pulse and respiration to monitor their progress during training. You’ll also need to become proficient at checking saddle fit, as a well-fitting saddle is essential for even a short endurance ride, and you’ll learn about how horses build condition through their various body systems.
• Friendship: Groups like Green Bean Endurance help you connect with other riders in your area, but even if you’re going it alone, endurance is a great way to meet other horsey people in your region.
• A new sense of bonding with your horse: There’s nothing like crossing the finish line of a 15-mile ride, tired but accomplished, with your equine partner. There are a lot of ways to deepen your friendship with your horse, but pushing your own sense of what’s possible is a pretty incredible one.
• No limits: Any breed can participate in endurance riding. Intro rides begin at 15 miles, which is attainable for most healthy, well-conditioned horses. There’s also a huge variance in human ages participating in endurance riding: entire families sometimes compete together as a team
• Wide variety of goals: There’s always a new goal in endurance riding. Whether you’re looking to finish your first intro ride, move up to a 50-miler, or aiming for the Best Condition award, you can usually find something new to prepare for, even if it’s a long-range project.

Endurance riders love our beta biothane tack because it’s light, gentle on sensitive skin, and waterproof! We’ll be announcing special products for endurance riders soon, but in the meantime, check out our line of breastcollars, which are especially popular with the endurance set.