Empathy… the key to success on the road.
The “Ethical Standard” for long riding
Until now there has been no “Ethical Standard” for long riding, nor has there been any long riding specific data recorded using current technologies such as smart phones and heart rate monitors for both riders and horses. Having found what both works and what destroys a rider and horse over long distances, I feel it is time to create and unambiguous statement in regards to what constitutes an “Ethical Standard” for long riding. When we set out to begin long riding, we received terrible advise, we made countless mistakes, and we harmed our horses on numerous occasions due to third party advise, our egos, and our inexperience. The Long Riders Guild offered us no help, and every rider that claimed they were a “long rider”, we now realise was in fact not. We hope that this “Ethical Standard” can help others avoid many of the simple mistakes we made and have not repeated.
For years the “Long Riders Guild” has been seen as the go too for long riders, and they define a “long rider” as someone who undertakes a continuous journey of 1,000 miles, although there is strong evidence to suggest that the founding members themselves have not actually done this. They also have a page called their “hall of shame” in which they publicly shame long riders who failed to meet the ethical standards the Guild has, but cannot sadly quantify. Here in lies the problem; at what point is 1,000 miles covered too quickly, or “unethically”. Sadly, one member of the Long Riders Guilds “hall of shame”, whom I have met personally tells a VERY different story to the version publicly shaming him. In this case, I side with the member of the hall of shame, as his accusers were a bunch of overly sensitive and emotional individuals from a nation of privilege and comfort, and did not understand the first thing about Kazakh steppe horses or their needs.
ALL travel on an over loaded horse is unethical, as is travel with a poorly fitted saddle and poor balance. But these points are easily quantifiable, with the speed of travel and fitness of the horse as well as available feed and recovery rates being the very ambiguous part of the “Ethical Standard”. As a result, I would say the standard must be in two parts, the constants “weight, saddle fit, and balance”, and the variables “speed, feed, fitness, and recovery.” The constants apply to all riding disciplines, with the variables becoming ethical restraints as soon a rider wishes to go further faster.
Constant factors affecting all long rides
The rider “or gear carried on a pack horse” must be of an ethical weight for the horse. This can be determined using a formula supplied by contacting us, or with the consultation of an equine professional.
The saddle must be correctly fitted, with no weight placed outside of the saddle support area. This can be determined with the help of a professional saddle fitter or preferably, an equine ergonomists, or by contacting us.
The rider must be of a physical standard capable of riding the horse in a balanced manner. This can be assessed by a suitable riding coach, and if needed physical therapist.
The rider must provide suitable hoof care for their horse at all times, and must have a budget great enough to do so for the duration of the journey.
The rider should only ride a horse of a condition score of no less than 4, and no greater than 6, stopping when needed to allow the horse to regain weight. A condition score guide can be found online or advised of by an equine professional.
The rider must have a basic partnership established with their horse, and make every effort for the horse to have either an equine partner or choose a horse that does not suffer from separation anxiety.
The rider must have means of safely securing all horses in their care overnight with hobbles, tethers, high lines, and electric fences all suitable options.
The rider must have a budget great enough to ensure all horses in their care can receive emergency medical treatment at any time, and if needed an emergency transport to a safe location.
The rider must have a good understanding of equine health needs, carry appropriate items to diagnose and treat potential issues, as well as up to date vaccinations and documentation for all horses in their care.
The rider must ensure their horse is physically and mentally sound, is not lame, and is fit to ride.
The rider must be able to undertake basic tasks under stressful conditions without assistance. This includes mounting from the ground managing a horse in traffic, walking past livestock, dogs, water obstacles, and bridges.
The horse should be fully grown, and preferably have at least two seasons of education and conditioning.
The rider must have a good understanding of their horses nutritional requirements, and provide adequate food, electrolytes, and water at all times.
The rider MUST at ALL times take responsibility for their actions, the way their actions affect their horse, and at all times look for their mistakes leading to failures and setbacks, rather than blaming the horse.
Variable factors affecting all long rides
If a rider wishes to travel over a distance of 1,000km at a speed of greater than 150km per week, the following considerations must be made for the ethical treatment of the horse.
The rider must have completed appropriate training for both themselves, and the horse. Contrary to what many may believe, many horses are in suitable condition to long ride with only a small amount of specific training provided they are of a good level of base fitness. This can be tested using the suggested fitness test.
The rider must have tested gear prior to setting of at speed, by traveling at speed in order to diagnose and eliminate any points of potential wear on the horse. This can be tested using the suggested fitness test.
The rider must be prepared to dismount and walk as much as 1/3rd of the journey. In order to preserve a horse over a longer ride, it is advisable to dismount for almost all technical sections of trail, in particular downhill.
The rider must ensure adequate time daily for their horse to rest and graze. It is suggested the rider is mounted no more than 7 hours a day “with a lunch stop”, and a 24 hour rest after every 30 hours ridden.
The rider must have a good understanding of their horses baseline heart rates, know how to take a horses heart rate, and monitor it through out a long ride. This is essential to make sure your horse is given adequate recovery time, and that the horses condition is consistent.
The rider must ensure that with the extra work load placed upon the horse, its feeding requirements cannot fall below a minimum of 8 – 12 kgs of dry matter per day, supplemented with a “vet approved” supplementary feed and electrolytes daily.
The rider must be prepared to stop immediately should the horse suffer dramatic weight loss, present as lame, and if on a journey documented on social media, be prepared to publicly get the horse VET cleared in order to present an ethical view of long riding and long riders.
The rider must understand that distances greater than an average of 32km per day are very difficult to maintain, and for these to be achieved you need an elite level horse, and a VERY high level of fitness. As a result, we do not recommend travel above an average of 40km per day as ethical over long distance.
The rider must have a detailed understanding of saddle fit, and the ability to adjust fit on the road.
Basic fitness test for a long rider
No less than 20,000 steps per day for two weeks, preferably a month prior to beginning your ride. 7 X 25km rides in no more than 4 hours over 14 days with good sessions of canter and trot, preferably over dynamic and hilly terrain to test for rubs, damage, and other gear failures.
During this, the horses baseline heart rate and recovery time should be recorded.
If these basic guidelines are followed, a journey has a high chance of success. If they are ignored, a rider will find out very quickly that this “Ethical Standard” was written by actual long riders and is very much relevant to all long distance travel on horseback.
