What is this all about?
A pretty picture in a pretty setting, but why is it important as well? Glad you asked- or didn't, because you should have 😆
This is, from left to right, Coco, Tamara, Atlas, Titan, me and Layne. We are at the Midnight Rider endurance event in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Tamara and Layne are experienced and truly excellent endurance riders. They are so nice to allow me to jump in and give it a go! I'm up to 200 total miles! Yeah, total newbie. 🤭
I've shown all over the place in many, many different disciplines. So what is so unique about this photo? What this picture shows is the priority of the care of and interaction with the horse in endurance riding. When horse show folks would be sitting ringside with their horses in their stalls or standing around waiting for their next class, we are out playing with the horses. Checking their feed, their attitude, their legs, their water, and playing tour guide for them a lot...that's a big shift!
We walk and hand-graze the horses to:
1. Help them walk off any stiffness or muscle fatigue from travel
2. Keep their digestive tract working on food instead of possible ulcers
3. Lower stress levels
4. Let them stretch their legs while off the high tie or portable pen (it would be a stall at a show, of course)
5. Let them look around and encourage their curiosity
6. Help them recover after the ride to reduce stiffness and lower lactic acid buildup in the muscles
7. Have a social time with their buddies
8. Keep them interested in eating by offering varied food sources like native grasses and plants. This provides their gut with food sources with varying levels of fiber, moisture, vitamins, and minerals.
9. Enjoy time with the horses with zero strings attached
10. Laugh at the horses' antics, take pictures, and talk with other riders out with their horses.
(I'll give a mention to fending off zombie legs in the human after the ride. Keep moving; it's a lot better in the long run!)
I don't specialize in any one discipline anymore because it just gets too myopic. Too much tunnel vision is not the best perspective for horses. Not a good perspective for me either at this point in my life. But in each activity you can find really good eggs and learn a lot to take with you for all of your equestrian efforts.
That is what this picture is about.