You can lead a horse to water at an LD but you can't ....

...make them drink!   Funder and I have very similar horses in regard to mare/horsey behavior.   With willingness to drink being one of the common threads of our aggravation.  I have made "some" progress in this area, as Phebes will now drink out of the common water tanks once she hits about 18 miles.  However she will not drink out of a bucket either at an LD or on a training ride. Nor can she find relaxation enough to take advantage of creek water at a ride, though on solo training rides she will (at about 18 miles).  This thread of thought got me to thinking about the LD as a training ground for endurance.  In some ways I believe it isn't really always the best way to break into distance riding if your goal is longer distance.   Granted, many or even most horses can do alright.  But couple a rider new to the sport with a horse that is new to the sport and it is the perfect storm for things to go haywire.  In a perfect world if LD were only a training ground for longer distance it seems like it would start out with a novice division that requires a set slow pace (in order that the horses learn to ride that pace from the beginning), with a penalty for coming in too early. (Someone will call out here CTR! of which AERC offers none, because it is not what they do).  If I could do it all over, I think I'd have done a full season of CTR prior to attempting an LD.  I think if you are successful at CTR, the segue to LD would be seamless.   You would also avoid a lot of problems from the outset as your horse's pace would be slower, and you would be learning to manage issues before they erupt into problems.

ENDURANCE TRAINING CLINICS would be a beautiful thing for new people and/or new horses coming into the sport.  They might be available out west, but nothing like that here in the midwest that I know of.  A "Getting Started in Endurance" clinic would ideally be presented by riders who have accrued a lot of mileage on the same horse, rather than someone who races.  We see reining clinics, bomb proofing clinics, cow clinics, barrel racing clinics, hobble clinics, round penning, blah blah blah blah blah clinics.  But where are the Getting Started in Endurance Clinics?

But here we are, Funder with her horse related issues and me with mine.  I can't speak for Funder and Dixie since I haven't had the pleasure of meeting either in person, or riding with.  But I can honestly say that virtually ALL of Phebes issues are related to starting her at too fast of a pace.  She mentally could not handle the stress of all the new stimuli and churning down the trail.  It set into  motion a pattern of difficulties that I expect we will be unraveling for the next few years.  Not worth it.  Seriously...NOT WORTH IT.   I still believe that Phebes can, because on training rides she does great now.  It is in the presence of other horses that the mental unraveling occurs.

So!  Back to the real topic of drinking.  Here's what I'm trying currently.

Low dose electrolytes in a water carrier / with a water chaser.

Offering water at every water crossing.

Offering water at the horse trailer (this horse virutally NEVER drinks at the trailer).

Things I'm going to try:

• Adding flavoring to a bucket of water.  My thoughts are that if I can find something pre-ride she will really slurp down...that would be half the battle, starting out well-hydrated and electrolyted.   Thoughts on this are molasses, powdered Gator Aid, Apple Juice, or Horse Quincher (some folks swear by it).
• Not offering water at the trailer.  You say what??!  It might make the water on trail look a lot better.  Phebes favorite trail water is the one that has frog eggs in it.
• Spending a few days offering water out of a bucket as the ONLY drinking source in case "bucket" is the real issue.
• Offering a legal something or other to calm her stomach, as the excitement may be creating a gastric issue of some sort?
• A hypnotist (maybe I could be calmer) *LOL*

Have a nice day all.  ~ E.G.