The Riding Diary Blog

Jenni Miller kindly sent me the following article when I told her that I wanted to find out more about Long Distance Riding.

Discovering the wide outdoors by Jenni Miller

You’ve got your first horse, possibly a long term dream realised. Scary but exhilarating!  Or possibly you’ve been very lucky and grown up with horses in your back yard and been involved in dressage and the like, occasionally going out for an hours ride. So what now for the new horse rider. Has the lucky rider ever considered going out of their circles into the big wide yonder? Perhaps you have no wish to compete.

Equine Ramblers UK is the only registered company supporting and promoting Long Distance Riding.  It was formed primarily to construct a network of Trail Partner volunteers UK wide to offer local knowledge help with access and accommodation and has grown into a resource where Long Riders can contribute routes, stories and much more. Long Riders travel with their horse, beyond the day’s ‘hack’, sometimes camping and sometimes staying in accommodation either pre-booked or ‘on the hoof’ depending on what adventure they are embarked on.

Map Reading. So how do you go about becoming a Long Rider? Being able to map read is really important. If you can’t already map read or use a compass there are places you can find on-line where they will teach you. You can use a GPS as confirmation but don’t rely on it.  You can then plan your route and daily distances.  20 mile (32.19 kms) daily distances are comfortable as you can split it into two and have an hour lunch break to allow your horse to revive.

Feed. Some riders allow 10 minutes grazing every hour on a long ride, but it’s personal preference.  Don’t be too concerned about taking extra feed for your horse as this complicates things.  The herbage during the more clement months will be plentiful.  At the end of each days ride put your horse out at grass.  It’s preferable to travel as light as possible using saddle bags, without back-up – true Long Riding!

Distance. Go for longer rides first and get you and your horse used to distance.  You may find your horse is inexperienced and spooky. Even though you have owned Neddy for ages he hasn’t seen that much as he’s been used to the confines of the ménage. Some things will be new to him. It’s guaranteed your relationship with him will go to new levels. If you’ve just bought your first horse you will have to join up and it may take a while for Neddy to trust you, but you’ll know when he does! If you can do a regular ten miles (16 kms) you are well on the way.

Safety.  Don’t take unnecessary risks. Your safety equipment should include emergency food rations, water and a whistle.  If you go into wild and wooly places it is likely your mobile phone won’t work. Even in relatively civilized areas this can happen so the whistle will come in useful should you be incapacitated.  Also take a space blanket and a rudimentary first aid kit for you and your horse.  Let someone know your intended route and don’t deviate from it intentionally.  You can try 112 on your mobile for another network service in an emergency. Since 12th January 2012 you can legally use a Personal Locator beacon in-land.  You can purchased these from McMurdos http://www.mcmurdo.co.uk/en/products/plbs

Clothing. There’s no need to go and buy new clothing to look smart. Your well used clothing will do and is well tried and tested. Mostly you can take clean underpants and socks with one change of top clothes should they get wet or need washing. Light weight clothing is best. You can wrap them in large seal proof bags to keep them dry along with any medication and your toiletries and put these in saddle bags. You can tie your wet weather gear rolled up on your saddle. It’s amazing how much you can pack in a small space!

Your Horse. You are not going to present yourself to a judge so just a brush and hoof pick or penknife will be OK. Use well used equipment that is in good condition.  Your horse needs to be comfortable but you don’t need the hassle of things breaking.  If your horse is shod then have him checked about ten days before you set off.  If your horse is barefooted you should have some idea of how to trim and take a small rasp with you.  In both cases it’s a good idea to carry a hoof boot or two. 

There’s a big country out there with lots to see.  The sky for your roof, the grass for your floor.

You can go on-line http://equineramblersuk.co.uk and join the Equine Ramblers UK forum free or see us in Facebook and talk to some of the experienced members.  If you would like to offer your services as a Trail Partner fill the form in, in the Trail Partner section. Equine Ramblers is building a library of routes countrywide that are not promoted by National Trails, Councils or the BHS and would be pleased to receive contributions.  Please email jenni@equineramblersuk.co.uk

A consultation has just been launched asking the horse community for their views about a proposed new voluntary scheme for trading horses.  It is hoped the scheme will raise standards of animal health and welfare within the horse industry, and allow people to feel more reassured when buying horses.

There have been concerns for some time about problems associated with the purchase of horses from ‘dealers’ with evidence in the past of animals being given fraudulent identities and others affected with disease which gives the horse trade a bad name.

The Equine Disease Coalition, which was established last year, has formulated The Voluntary Equine Animals Trading Scheme (VEATS), and hopes the Scheme will regularise the horse trade by ensuring the Scheme’s members adopt high animal health and welfare standards on their premises linked to fool-proof identification and good records.  This would therefore increase the level of preparedness for a major equine disease outbreak in Great Britain.

The Disease Coalition is now seeking feedback from members of the public about the proposal.  Chairman of the Disease Coalition and World Horse Welfare Chief Executive Roly Owers said: “Before the Voluntary Equine Animals Trading Scheme can be developed further, a consultation is being carried out to obtain the opinions from a number of key organisations within the equine industry.  But we feel it is equally important that we also get the views of the wider horse community about our proposals.

“We hope that people who buy and sell horses to the public, together with producers, will appreciate the benefits of the scheme and it will also allow the general public to feel more confident when buying a horse from these sources.  We believe that by encouraging horse producers and traders to join the scheme standards of their premises would be raised which can only be a good thing for their reputation.”

There are several proposed conditions associated with the Voluntary Equine Animals Trading Scheme the members would need to adhere to, which include:

• Horses on the registered premises must meet scheme standards at all times and will be subject to independent audit.
• Each member must nominate a veterinary practice that will be involved with the care of the horses on the registered premises.
• All horses on the registered premises must be identified by a passport and microchip.
• Members must either have their own microchip reader or have access to a reader.
• The member may only sell animals in the scheme that are in good health and show no signs of illness.

World Horse Welfare Veterinary Consultant Keith Meldrum who was involved with setting up the Equine Disease Coalition and VEATS said: “This is a very exciting project and we are looking forward to receiving some interesting feedback from both traders and the horse owning public.  We believe that the Scheme could make a huge difference to the horse trade in a positive way as it will make it clearer as to who one can trust when buying a horse or pony.  It will be proof that the members are reputable as they have to adhere to tough but realistic conditions.”

 Members of the public can see more information about the Voluntary Equine Animals Trading Scheme as well details on how to send their responses to the consultation questions on our website at www.worldhorsewelfare.org/contact/veatsconsultation

The Equine Disease Coalition, which is made up of representatives from the Animal Health Trust, British Equine Veterinary Association, Cambridge University, Defra, Horse Trust, RSPCA and World Horse Welfare, plans to work closely with a number of authorities such as Government Departments and the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency.