Endurance Equipment
First Aid Kit
When you participate in a ride there are some things which you must carry.
Firstly, a first aid kit, which should comprise of the following:
Triangular Bandage
Whistle
Vet Wrap
Glucose Tablets
Wound Bandage
Space Blanket
It is best to keep these contents in a bum bag around your waist. Do not attach this to the horse/saddle. It is also a good idea to keep a folded hoof pick in your bag.
If you do forget to bring your first aid kit there is always one for hire from the caravan. However, please don't rely on this as numbers are limited. This facility should only be used on an occasional/emergency situation. In addition you must ensure your rider membership/ID card is on you at all times. You may prefer to keep this inside your first aid kit or attached to your map case.
Map Case
You do not need to purchase a special map case for endurance riding, but some modifications help! Because of the use of the map case, i.e. riding and not walking it can become twisted, tangled and flap around furiously! Therefore, many riders modify it in some way, e.g. fold the case in half and attach a short length of velcro to keep it in place. Another idea is to replace the rigid string with elastic. This way the map case sits around your waist and you can pull it out when needed.
Any other ideas/modifications always welcome! However, like the first aid kit, please ensure this is attached to you at all times and not your horse/saddle.
Prior to your ride check you have all the relevent paperwork. Check your map and talkround (written guide) correlate. Try to recognise features on the map which may help you. Many riders find it beneficial to colour co-ordinate/highlight particular points or mileage.
To ensure you remain with the time parameters it is important that you prepare your talkround to include the slowest and fastest time next to the given distances. To work this out use the following:-
distance divide by speed parameters x 60
Therefore, if you are doing a pleasure ride and you reach a point having covered 6.5 km the fastest time you want to arrive at this point is 6.5 divide by 10.99 (fastest time allowed in pleasure ride) x 60 = 35 mins. The slowest time you want to arrive at this point is 6.5 divide by 8 (slowest time allowed in pleasure ride) x 60 = 49 mins.
Keeping within the fastest/slowest parameters is only a guide. This guide should always be flexible and altered depending on your horse and the terrain