More about the endurance ride

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The collage shows four photos from the endurance ride that Vince and I recently attended at Talbot, Western Australia. Top left shows a competitor trotting her horse out in front of the veterinarians. The horse has already had its heart rate, temperature and respiration checked, along with gut sounds, and mucous-membrane response (pressing a finger against the gum to gauge how quickly blood returns to the spot). The legs and back are checked for sore spots then the horse is trotted away from the vet then back so that any lameness can be detected. Only then is this rider allowed to head out on the track. It will be checked after 40kms or at the end of their distance if they are doing a shorter ride. The five competitors that did the 80 km (50 mile) ride started out at 2am. Most were back at camp by about 10am, before the weather got really hot, and all vetted through successfully. Horses see well in the dark and the riders wear lamps on their helmets to they can pick up the direction markers. Eighty kilometre riders do two 40km loops. The rider top right is heading out at 6 am on his second leg. You can see the moon is still up. Lower right shows a rider on his/her own. Some horses travel better on their own; others like to have company. Lower left shows a group of riders who left at 8am and rode for 20 kms. Third from the left in that photo is a young girl on quite a small pony. They had no trouble covering the distance. Sorry this is a bit long but them’s the breaks.