Welsh Cob- endurance riding/distance riding?

[wyrdhorses]

Anyone use a Welsh Cob for endurance riding or long distance riding?

I am not expecting to get up to great distances, but would like to get to about intermediate endurance, and be able to do a good long rides, that will last a few days, maybe a week at the most.

At the moment my little black mare, who is a Welsh Cob, is probably a better bet for me doing this than my gelding.

So, would love to hear from anyone doing these things on a welsh cob, I haven't seen many of them at my endurance group.

[Donnalex]

I would imagine that they would need to be really fit as they would struggle with heart rates and heat retention. I know someone who does it competitively and they tell me that Connemaras are very good at the job but it takes longer to get their heart rates down in competition so they are held at gates for longer than Arabs. The Welsh would need to be super slim as the layer of fat and bulk of muscle that they have would stop them cooling down effectively.
Having said that, any breed can be used for pleasure long distance riding as without the pressure of competition, you are free to monitor the horse without feeling pressured.

[Ryan&Dizzy]

i used to do the shorter ones (up to about 25miles) on the coloured in my signature. the only problem i had with him was keeping him cool enough we had to add extra crewing stops in to throw water at him.

you will have to be aware that you will get called alsorts of names for turning up on a cob when you start though even by the organisers. i did have people appolagise to me after i had been doing it and succeeding for a while though. Otto loved it and we always completed them... not aways in time tho... but he was a big HW cob and not at all athletic!!

[dingbat]

some welshies will do it well. i've seen some out. they'd need to be fit and not overweight but have good stamina. mine was never speedy but he'd keep going steadily for ages.

[laura]

I did up to the 25 miles with Taz .. although could have done a bit more I think had we done some serious training






she still had "go" after this




as has been said

awareness that cobs dont lose the heat as well as arabs, tb,s etc as their blood vessels not so near the surface

yes you may get comments about cobs not being so good ..... but like otto I got a few apologies who thought a cob could not keep up the pace needed ( not looked at welsh cob history did they

I did hear about one wc that did the longer distances at speed ... so yes, possible.

I liken it to the obedience scene ... eveyone thinks you need a collie to be really good ..... truth is although they are indeed an ideal dog ..... it does not mean you cant be reaaally good with other breeds.

have fun

Long distance they excel if , like any other horse, they are conditioned properly .. ..

[Oranges]

I no loads of welsh cobs that do endurance, they happily compete (and beat) the fancy arab lot lol, One woman i think is competing at 80km on hers and getting speeds of 15k, she does have a job getting the heartrate down and she does keep her very trim and fit. Actually if your black mare is the one i'm thinking of shes very similar to the welshie i'm on about

[jes]

I did some endurance a few years back on a Welsh D x. We did 20, 30 & 40 mile rides quite successfully, despite him being a lazy so and so.

I did have to work a bit harder to get him fit enough, but he always had a low heartrate and only failed the vet once for being ever so slightly uneven on the trot up at the end.

There were a few of us who used to go together, including a piebald gypsy cob who never had a heart rate above 40 he was soooo laid back, another Welsh X, an Exmoor, a Highland, a Fell, oh and a couple of Arab x's just to fit in, lol!

[arabheaven]

any horse (obviously without deformities!) with the right training, diet and handling can do endurance
i see welshies, new forests, fells, connemaras... all sorts out on the endurance circuit

[joto]

well said arabheaven, exactly right. Welsh cobs can do endurance, as can allsorts of breeds, its just that some take more getting and keeping fit than others. All depends on your commitment and time available.

[gemma]

Absolutely no reason why you couldn't do it, and do it well. As other people have already said, you may find it harder to get the heart rate down, and the heavier-muscled horses can find it harder than the lighter Arabs, particularly in the heat, but as ever, it will depend entirely on the horse in question.

A friend of mine does endurance on her two traditional gypsy cobs. If anyone saw the Endurance pullout in the recent BHS magazine, you'll see a fab pic of her on her youngster Ned, in full western tack, looking absolutely fabulous, feathers and mane all flying. He's only done one season of PRs so far, but she intends to do his Novice season in 2008.

[esther]

www.welshcob.co.uk/Okeden.Stud/indexm.htm

By the time Frenin and Meteor sadly passed away they were some of the highest lifetime mileage endurance horses in the country. One of the national distance awards used to be named after Frenin because he was that consistent.

[carol]

I remember seeing a welsh cob coming into the finishing line at the Golden Horseshoe ride a few years ago. It was the 75 mile class, and that cob looked fabulous, really fit, sound, alert, full of stamina. I was so impressed, so yes, absolutely no reason why a welsh cob can't do endurance!

[Casper]

You could also do some TREC's with him - those are fun. I know they are usually only a day thing, but you get to do all sorts. And as others have said, no reason why you couldn't do endurance either, with the correct fittening programme etc.

[arabmania]

Go for it!
correct training and diet are paramount.

[swallowsmum]

i have a welsh cob x hanovarian(more welshie than hanny tho!). we have no problems at all. we are starting out on our first season of competitive rides now having done 2 seasons of PR's. no problems with heart rate, but obviously you need to get your training in before handto make sure they are nice and fit!