For the Newbies / Green Beans

Endurancegranny Blog - Full Story

July 20 2014

I wanted to reflect a bit today on this long process I've gone through called Endurance Riding. The beginnings if you will--- were quite painful and difficult. A group of slow to mid pack endurance riders mentored me well through a mild winter of legging up with a goal of spring ride. We even pre-rode the last loop of the trail that would be half of my horse's first LD. That very first ride was nearly tragic for me. I probably rode a bit faster than I should have, but nothing that we had not done and built up to in training. Let me tell you the mistakes I made that day so that perhaps I can prevent you from the errors I made that day. Don't be fearful though...just be smart.

My horse lacked mental maturity.
She was in heat.
The horse had five days off prior to the ride.
I brought a bale of alfalfa.
We left at the start with the pack.
The first five miles were way too fast.
I was unable to read my horse (due to lack of overall distance experience).
It was unseasonably warm / I did not have electrolytes.
My horse had an underlying medical issue of which I was unaware.

Talk about a perfect storm for disaster...it sure was. Learn from me. Don't repeat my mistakes. My first time LD resulted in my horse urinating BLACK, and veterinary intervention to save her life...

Read more here:
http://endurancegranny.blogspot.com/2014/07/for-newbies-green-beans.html