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[RC] Competitive Trail Riding horses treated? - Jonni JewellIn answer to some of Angies thoughts: I don't think that NATRC (not sure of the other competitive ride groups) keep formal records of any deaths, but I could be wrong. (shoot, how long has AERC been "keeping records"???) But I would hope they too, would start to look into this area, and see if there are things happening they need to keep track of. I think that the reason you often see horses not "built to do the distance" give a CTR a try, is they are looking for something else to do with their horses, rather than go around in circles in an arena. It is very rare for a first time, or new rider to try the Open division. Most will try a Novice ride first (speaking NATRC here) which is paced so most could walk the whole thing to finish, with minimal trotting. A Novice ride is not to exceed 24 miles in one day, or 40 miles on a 2 day ride. (mileage differs as to terrain, trail conditions etc.) The recommended pace is between 3.5 and 5 miles an hour, again, depending on the trail. For an introduction to the sport, most will admit (especially those who have done some endurance) that those parameters are a pretty conservative pace. Those with the horses that they find are not built to do the sport,but enjoyed competing, usually find another mount, or if they find the sport is not for them, they move on, and try different things with the same animal. In my years around distance rides, I have seen very few treatments of horses at NATRC rides, and have not personally known of any that died. But I am sure both can happen, but it is not that common. I was at a recent AERC ride, and they gave the completion rate at the beginning of awards, then announced very proudly "and no treated horses". Dang, that is the way it should be at every ride! It hit me funny they were kind of "proud" of the fact they had no treatments......almost like they were surprised. And Angie, from your posts, you have been around a few NATRC rides it seems, volunteering, and it is folks like you that these riders could use to talk to about distance riding. As you know, volunteers are often hard to find. I would love to see some cross over between CTRs and endurance, swapping volunteer duties if they don't compete at both sports. I hope the rides were appreciative of having an experienced rider out there for the day volunteering their time. I know that there is often difference of opinions and sometimes riders "looking down on" the other sport they don't compete in.(not directed at anybody, just a blanket statement) But I would hope that folks would encourage riders to give both a try, and make up their own mind which sport (if either, or both) would be suited for them. It is all distance riding, and we all use the trails. The more who use them, the better off we (as trail riders) are! Jonni in TX =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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