India: Giddy up, how about some endurance riding?

Mydigitalfc.com - Full Article

By Yana Bey
Jul 10 2014

Endurance horse riding, though a developing and little-known discipline in India, has a national champ-ionship in our country. A charming adventure sport, it is yet to get its fair share of public, media and sponsor attention. Hopefully, that will change with the holding of an event — Kross Terrain Endurance Ride 2014 — on the outskirts of Jodhpur in the second week of October this year. Those who are riders, or interested in equestrian sport, should begin preparing to attend this event.

Though it is competitive, endurance riding is a world away from conventional horse racing — and truly rewarding for those with an attachment to animals. It is far removed from the first-past-the-post-at-any-cost aggression of traditional races. Over the course of the long ride (there are events of 120, 100, 80, 60 and 40 km), there are periodic veterinarian checks at ‘vet gates’ to ensure that the animal is in good enough condition to carry on. For instance, a pulse rate over 64, dehydration level over 3, a gait that is not smooth, gut sound that is not normal and any bruise, swelling or wound on the legs, girth, back, withers or anywhere else can see a horse eliminated from the competition...

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