Blog

Buying your next Endurance horse

When it comes to buying an endurance horse, the most important thing is conformation. Ultimately our sport relies on a sound athlete, whether they be 14hh, 16hh, Heinz 57 or with the best performance lines. You will not start a pleasure ride with a lame horse, so a good starting point is at least one that moves straight with an efficient gait. Dishing or any other unusual movements can distract the vets. One of the reasons Arabs excel is due to their highly efficient gait, they have a naturally low arc of flight so very little energy is wasted.

You want a horse with decent bone, not too heavy but enough that it doesn’t look like it will blow over in the wind. The cannons should be nice and short with good sized knees and hocks. Some of the show Arab lines have been bred too fine and would be cautious of these. You also want an ideal length of back, Arabs typically have quite short backs which whilst strong, can make saddle fitting more challenging.

Personally, I like a reasonably sloped rump. Something again which seems to be lacking in some of the more show-bred lines we see. If you look at the French-bred or race-bred Arabians you will see they have really impressive hind ends that allow the horse to really step under itself and propel forward which allows them to engage the engine! Peachy bottoms is the aim people! Finally avoid a too fine head! Extremely dished faces can be detrimental to performance since they can restrict the airways.

When it comes to choosing which breed and breeding lines, it depends on what your aims are. There are many non-Arabs succeeding across all levels of the sport but it is fair to say globally that Arabs and part-bred Arabs dominate over bigger distances. Personally, I prefer a part-bred Arab. My preference is far more about function over flair and I find that pure-bred Arabs in the UK are heavily influenced by showing lines, rather than performance (I know this is blanket statement - sorry). There are exceptions of course, especially with the race-bred Arabs and those with French or Australian influence but these come with £££££ tags.

Part-bred Arabians I genuinely feel offer so many benefits. My personal favourite is the Anglo-Arab (TB x Arab), closely followed by Connemara x Arab. Indeed, I think any sports horse type crossed with an Arab makes for an impressive athlete.

I own three horses, all are very different but I plan to and do already do endurance with all of them. Chip, is a 50:50 Anglo, standing at 15.3hh, successfully competing at 2* level. Fern, is a Thoroughbred, standing at 16.1 but I hope to compete in some endurance before ultimately breeding myself an Anglo foal. Finally, Spice who at 15.1hh goes against a lot of what I have written because he’s a pure-bred and he has show lines! However, apart from being a little straight through the hocks and preferring a little more slope to his rump, I really like how he is put together.

So if you are looking to buy your next horse, consider what you want to achieve. Ask for photos from various angles and I also ask for videos of walk/trot on a straight line, on the lunge and under saddle. When recently looking for a horse, I ruled out about 8/10 horses based on further photos/videos before having to travel to view. Buying any horse is a big decision, not least if you have high hopes and a performance career in mind! Good luck!

Bella x

Georgina Vaughan speaks about Pure Feed

I started using Pure Feed about 8 years ago, aft er my horses were becoming very sharp and spooky during the winter months Georgina Vaughan on another brand of feed. Aft er some research I found that Pure Feed had a much lower starch BVetMed MRCVS and higher fi bre content in than most feeds. Endurance GB British Team Vet I’m sti ll shocked at the level of starch in a lot of feeds. The horses love it and are much more sati sfi ed on it and I think the results speak for themselves. It’s so simple to feed, the horses look amazing and always have enough energy to do the Don’t leave your job that’s asked of them.

horse’s diet to chance.

Get a personalised equine diet plan prepared by our nutritionists for FREE. Fully loaded with expert advice, it’s a must-read for horse owners. Whether there’s a specifi c issue, or you just want to know you’re doing the best for your horse, we can help. It only takes a few minutes – request your plan today.

Visit: www.purefeed.com/free-expert-diet-plan

Need help with the form or want to talk to an expert? Once you have completed the form, one of our nutritionists will send you a personalised diet plan for your horse. Alternati vely you can speak to a nutriti onist by calling 01458 333 333 (Mon–Fri, 9:00am–5:00pm).