When I bought Q he was in supreme condition, a lovely round bum and plenty of neck. Sadly due to 3 injuries one after the other over my first 4 months of owning him he had to do a grand total of 12 weeks box rest. He lost a lot of weight and a lot of muscle, he wen’t from looking like an absolute stunner to a bit of a rescue case that I would have been ashamed of people seeing.

I know this wasn’t my fault, he was stressed in a new environment, by himself on box rest with people he barely knew. It was inevitable that he’d lose muscle, and despite being fed a considerable amount he also lost weight. I wanted to share this because it’s not always rainbows and sunshine with horses and I believe talking about the downs is important. Social media can feel like everyone is living an unattainable lifestyle, and that is because we only share the good bits.

Because of such a dramatic change in body shape Q also didn’t fit his saddle anymore. I’ve had Free and Easy saddles for almost 20 years, I’ve fitted them predominantly myself and never had any issues. But Q is eluding the ‘perfect’ fit at the moment, that’s ok though, we’ll get there. It’s about altering and testing one thing at a time until you get that sweet spot, there is no rush to getting it right.

We would normally box out for hacking from my livery but the current situation means the lorry hasn’t moved for weeks and I was worried that Qantas, having done so little travelling in his life, would have forgotten how to load. I also wanted to try him out in travel boots for the first time. So now was an ideal opportunity to combine boots and loading practice together.

We also went for our first ‘longer’ hack. I call anything under 10km a short hack, anything over 10km a long hack and anything over 20km training rides. I don’t know why but that’s the vocabulary I’ve developed so that when any of my family ask ‘what you up to?’ they just know roughly how long I’ll be gone by the type of hack I say. Silly really, it’s not from any official terminology but that’s how we roll.

I was really impressed with Q for handling the wooden bridge so bravely, mastering gates with ease and being excellent in traffic. Azid threw me under a car last year and has dumped me on several occasions so I find it extra pleasing to be on a young horse who is so sensible. Azid is getting much better though, the problem with him is he’s so inconsistent. Combine harvester coming past, fine, doesn’t blink, scary flapping plastic wrap speeding past on a trailer, no problem, twig snapping 20m away, terrifying, but only on Tuesdays. Sometimes he jumps just at a change of road surface, sometimes he hates bicycles, other times a whole pelaton can go past with no bother. You just never know what might scare him on that given day so it’s quite hard to train it out of him because I can desensitise him just fine to almost everything but it doesn’t mean that on a sunny Friday afternoon in June that umbrellas won’t come and eat him.

We’re pretty adventurous in our household. I don’t think a week goes by without us going on a hike, mountain bike trail, climbing, kayaking, Paddle boarding, Surfing, you get the idea, anything outdoorsy and fun. But with a World Pandemic on our hands, adventures have been curtailed. So we’re taking mini adventures instead, like walking to the yard the long way round, taking footpaths in the area we haven’t been on before. Getting out and exploring from our home has made us appreciate where we live and when we finally get to go further afield I hope we don’t take that freedom for granted.

We have to go to the yard everyday to feed, water and check over the horses. We poo pick the field daily, getting a 200 litre wheelbarrow full a day, which takes about 30 minutes. Azid needs his fly repellent and killitch putting on. We give them their hard feed and fill up their water. It’s not exciting or groundbreaking stuff but it’s daily chores that have to be done, there’s no putting a horse in the garage and forgetting about it until you want to take it out again.

I actually find the daily routine and the fact that it just has to be done quite comforting. You get into a flow and let your mind wander, listen to the birds and just go into autopilot, I guess you could almost call it a form of mindfulness practice.

As a Physio I have to stay pretty fit. I have always been athletic and enjoyed moving. I have never, however, enjoyed cardio. No matter how fit I get (and I’ve been half marathon fit, flown around several tough mudders, hiking etc) that first 15-20mins feels like air just isn’t getting into my lungs and (this is weird I know) my ears hurt!!

However over the last 18months I have discovered mountain biking through my boyfriend. I never spent much time on a bike as a kid, I remember being distinctly awful at it. But with Azid getting injured last year I had way more time on my hands and was missing my time out on the countryside. We hired a bike and popped around Cannock chase, and although I crashed into a tree within the first minute, I fell in love. I still struggle to steer, I still fall off often but it’s the first form or cardio I’ve ever loved. My ears still hurt but I just wear a headband in all weathers, ha!

Azid was a little bit scratchy last year but nothing to note, this year it seems that he definitely does have sweet itch. It’s so heartbreaking thinking of him being so uncomfortable he itches so much he breaks his skin and you worry every time you go into the field, whether he’s impaled himself on something or scratched his skin raw. But now we know he has sweet itch, we’re doing lots of research and trying lots of things to find out what works best for him. Fingers crossed it works and we don’t get through too many fly rugs in the meantime.

The more out there bit about Endurance I guess is our tack. Literally any colour combination goes, professional yards have their horses all in matching colour co-ordinated kit and it always looks so fancy. You can tell at an FEI event which yard a horse is from just by their signature tack style.

I have used three different distributors of endurance tack in the UK over the years and they all have their merits. Plas equestrian: https://www.plasequestrian.co.uk/ are a Welsh company that also do a lot of traditional leather work and showing halters. Performance Equestrian: http://www.performance-equestrian.com/ do some really pretty browbands with native american designs or charms, you can also have your horses name or a team name printed onto the biothane, they also stock lots of products for all your endurance needs. Finally Pioneer Endurance: https://www.pioneerendurance.com/ they literally will make you anything you need, have a headshy horse there’s a bridle for that, need to be seen on the roads hi-viz reflective tack is perfect, it’s a super bespoke service that will make something perfect for you. It also has a range of endurance numnahs that I really like.

My tack is predominantly from Pioneer at the moment and I’m saving up to get Qantas his own set, my brother bought me the reins for Christmas so I just need the bridle and breastplate to match. No surprise I’m going for white and navy, but more white than navy this time in a reverse of Azids tack.

Saddle wise anything goes, you just need something that’s comfy for you and the horse, fits well and can change as your horse changes shape. You don’t need specialist tack to start endurance, as long as it is safe and functional there aren’t many rules. Here are the EGB rules regarding tack: https://egb.myclubhouse.co.uk/Cms/Spaces/RULES/02+Riding+Rules. But I must admit once you start playing with colour combinations, it gets a bit addictive!!

Tissy is really malting at the moment so we decided to give her a good groom and a bath. She had a pretty hard winter and lost quite a bit of weight so its nice to her returning to normal with the spring grass.

We also went for a hack in the wood on Qantas, we saw a beautiful deer, who bounded onto the track in front of us, but as fate would have it I wasn’t actually filming that part, doh! I was too busy enjoying the ride and the light shining through the tree canopy.

Qantas also did his first ever proper spook with me, which is pretty good going for 6months in. Up until now he just kind of flinches and carries on. Today he did a 180 spin, but then as ever his brain kicked in pretty rapidly and he stopped and looked instead. Such a mature head on an inexperienced young horses shoulders. Again I didn’t get it on camera, ha! What are the chances I miss all the good bits! But its probably a good thing because I may have swore quite loudly!

I’ve been doing more pole work recently in an attempt to muscle up Qantas’ back end and I’m actually starting to enjoy it. I won’t lie I’ve not done very much over the years (Probably a 6 week block at the start of every season) and I get all my ideas from social media posts. But giving it a go more regularly has been fun. I would love to go to some proper pole clinics in the future. Anyone know any good ones in the Midlands?

Coupled with doing more stuff in the school and the lovely hot weather we’ve been having the livery school has started to get a bit dusty and the fibre is rising to the top. So in an attempt to squidge it back down we attempted to make our own roll and water sprinkle system (Spoiler: It kinda worked but not really).

This is going to vary dramatically from person to person. How confident you are, how much of a minimalist you want to be, how well you know your horse, how much of a prepper you are, the list could go on!

I would say I’m somewhere in the middle of pure minimalist and chronic over packer. I always have what I need, I usually have spares and if it comes to it I’ve always got something that will make do. On top of what’s in the video below I always have a well stocked lorry/trailer/towing vehichle. I carry spares of almost everything essential, first aid kit for both human and horse, rugs for all occasions, corral gear and the essential tea making facilities!

I’m a pretty experienced Endurance rider now after 21 years in the sport so I guess I have the confidence to know what I need. I have 4 main lists: The Day Ride 16-50km (which is the video you’re seeing below), the Overnight Ride 16-50km, The Crew Car (This has to include food and drink for the crew) and The Vet Gate kit 64-160km. Theses list have been tweaked over the years and are different depending on which horse is going and of course laminated so I can check things off as I pack.

What do you guys think is on the essentials list? Is there stuff missing from what I’d pack or do you think you wouldn’t take some of it?

With lockdown still ongoing I really wanted to do something fun. Our options are limited at the moment and that’s fine. We’re luckier than most with lovely fields to be in and horses to care for. But I was still craving a bit of variety. Hence on Sunday morning I got up before Dan made a picnic and declared it Pony picnic day.

We had sandwiches, cake, cookies, fruit, orange juice and crisps while the ponies had carrots, apples for bobbing, Baileys tasty treats and ‘pony squash’ (Aqua aide electrolyte in their water bucket). We took out books and a blanket into the field and enjoyed an hour of relaxing in the sunshine with the horses.

We discovered Qantas likes cheese and pickle, Azid is relentless when it comes to breaking into treat buckets, Tissy is happy just to relax, the geldings would like to learn to read and lying down with your horse is one of the most wonderful experiences ever!

Trotting up is such an important skill to have as an endurance rider. You have to pass a trot up to start the ride, continue out on loops and to complete at the finish. I find getting into a routine with my horses, where I stand, what I do, how I breath, really relaxes them in what can we a stressful environment. With adrenaline running high and lot’s of people around you want to make it as easy and relaxed as possible so that you get the best results.

My trot ups aren’t always perfect, sometimes they just don’t want to expend the energy following a silly human up and down a lane. Sometimes watching the helicopter land outside the vetting is just too exciting to remember to stand still and put their head down for the heart rate to be taken. Nobody is perfect, sometimes we may do the perfect trot up, sometimes it may look like you haven’t got a clue what you’re doing, that’s life.

Here are some of the tips and tricks I have learnt in my 22 years of Endurance riding. I have trotted up shetlands (Yes, an actual 38inch shetland), Welsh cobs, Section A’s and Arabians, they all learnt the same and did the same with a bit of training.

• Teach a command to start the trot, I use my voice, some use body language, turning the horse or swing the end of a rope. Although the rope thing isn’t my personal choice I think it looks a little bit unprofessional and like the horse doesn’t want to go, but that’s just my opinion and it works well for lots of people.
• Hold the rope long and loose, vets are not stupid, you can’t mask lameness by holding the head and if you’re holding on too tight it turns the horses head towards you, making the trot wonky.
• Run beside your horse not in front so that the vet gets a full clear view of the horse and you’re less likely to be asked to trot again because they couldn’t see.
• Decelerate quickly at the ends, the last thing you want is to show a slow, lazy horse dragging its feet.
• Make a wide turn in walk at the top. It gives you time to collect yourself if you have an exuberant pony on your hands. A tight quick turn at trot can sometimes make your horse look stiff.
• Look straight ahead and smile, you’re meant to be having fun after all. The vets are not there to catch you out or spoil your fun. They are there to look after your horse!!!

What are your top tips and tricks and how do you train your horse for vettings?