Nick Warhol has accumulated 13,000 competitive miles in 13 years of equestrian endurance riding, including over 30 hundred-milers. He’s also a ride manager, former AERC board member, and storyteller. The latter came through during his talk at the 2021 AERC Convention titled What Makes a Great Endurance Horse and How to Get One.
Warhol began with a disclaimer: All opinions are his and could be argued by others.
I reckon that’s true of anyone trying to sort out what makes a great endurance horse. We all agree on good feet and correct conformation, but Warhol’s focus went more than bone deep. His #1 most important trait for an endurance horse? Its mind.
Spooking (the phantom type, not the occasional honest spook) is problematic and even dangerous. Warhol said that, in his experience, spooky behavior is best addressed through relationship rather than training. “You’re not going to change a horse’s feelings and opinions by force. You have to connect and communicate.”
He told the story of a gorgeous, talented mare. She was fabulous, but he clung on as he rode her, afraid of hitting the dirt (again) on one of her dramatic spooks.
A friend finally advised, “Don’t ride her like she’s gonna spook. Ride her like she’s not!”
So, Warhol forced himself to relax and ride the mare as if she were his steady gelding. Breathe. Don’t clamp legs or butt. Reduce contact on the bit. Sing. Keep pretending you’re on a horse you trust.
It worked. Relaxing himself relaxed the mare and brought out the best in her.
“You’re not going to change a horse’s feelings and opinions by force,” he said. “You have to connect and communicate.”
Warhol also talked about the challenge of shopping for a good brain. He suggested that shoppers:
- Rely on references and referrals when possible
- Trust your gut instinct (and know that it’ll improve with practice)
- Ask the owner to ride the horse first, while you observe
He noted that while it’s possible to buy a turnkey horse – a seasoned endurance campaigner – doing so sacrifices the invaluable experience of building your own partner.
By bringing along your own horse, you can be confident that her conditioning schedule was appropriate. Not only that, you get the bonding that can only come through time. “When you really know each other, you both know what the other partner is going to do.”
He added that no matter what horse you buy, it’s possible her personality and mindset will change when you start doing endurance. Your unicorn could turn into a dragon at the starting line. It is, quite literally, the nature of the beast.
When asked how to prevent race brain, Warhol answered like a card-carrying member of what I call the I Choose Life Club: “Go ahead and get off until they calm down. When the frenzy stops, get back on.”
Cheers to that, Mr. Warhol.
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Great recap of his talk! I enjoyed your thoughts on it as much as I enjoyed listening to him.
Thanks, Katie! He was so fun to listen to. I may have to listen again, also. 🙂