Re: Non-typical endurance horses (fwd)
DarleneLVT@aol.com
Thu, 23 Jan 1997 00:21:40 -0500 (EST)
This post got my interest because it really outlines endurance season '96 for
me! The horse I had the pleasure of riding was EQ-Kay-Sara, aka Canyon.
Canyon is a 1/2 Arab/QH. Beautiful Arab head, and primarily QH build. When I
first started riding Canyon she was at least 200# overweight, the result of a
year of loving neglect from her current owner. She and I started conditioning
slowly, increasing distance and speed as we went. This horse has a heart the
likes of which I will be lucky to ever experience again. Believe me, I took
some hard core ribbing about her build. I liked to joke that she and I have
the same base line.Comments such as how soon she was due to foal were
commonplace among some of our riding friends. She completed two 25's in the
'95 season, top tenning both times. She also brought home the breed award at
one of them. Prineville '96 came and Canyon was ready for her first 50. We
finished 28th out of 66 finishers. Pretty decent for a chunky bay mare with a
heart of gold. We went on to finish 225 miles in the '96 season altogether.
Usually finished in the top 30%. Our vet cards usually had some comment from
one of the ride vets pertaining to her weight. The vets were generally
impressed with our progress. Canyon got some very nice vet scores. I got a
hard time from some die hard Arab people. Don't get me wrong. I grew up with
Arabs. I know what they are capable of. If you are willing to make some
concessions to your QH you will do just fine. Know that they will take longer
to cool down because of the bulky muscle. Know they will require more
electrolyte attention ( I know this from personal experience ). Most of all,
know that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Make reasonable
goals and go about attaining them in a sensible way. I miss Canyon terribly,
her owner asked to have her back so I no longer get the pleasure of her
company. I have with me the rest of my life the memories that we created
together and I would not trade one of them to have a better, faster, prettier
Arab. I now have my Feather to look forward to competing with. She is a Morab
who is much better suited to this sport than Canyon, but my experience with
Canyon taught me that I can attain my goals and be proud of them. Ribbing and
all. :-)
Darlene M. Anderson, LVT
& Feather
Stanwood, WA