Numnahs.

Shape and material are the all important factors.  In my experience  different horses work well with different materials.  I personally have a preference for plain cotton numnahs.  I have used sheepskins and wool  numnahs in the past but found these became very heavy once soaked in a mixture of sweat and water, and felt I did not want my horse carrying this extra weight.  I also like them to have a shaped spine so that they can be really pulled right up into the gullet and you can see daylight between the numnah and the horse's spine.
In my experience non slip numnahs do not always work. I had one horse where the saddle stayed in place and the non slip numnah just shot out the back!  I have also found that non natural materials tend to retain heat under them more so than natural materials.  Modern hard wearing wicking materials do not appear to have made it to horse wear yet.  One exception to these findings is the NEW Essentials Internet Mesh Pad.

Girth.

My personal favourite is a leather dressage Atherstone girth, which is shaped to be narrower behind the horse's elbows allowing for freedom of movement.  These often have a central D ring for breastplate attachment.  I personally find that with a full length girth I get rubs on my legs where the girth buckles sit under my leg. Since changing to dressage girths I have not had this problem.  I prefer leather as a construction material as it is easy to clean and being natural it breathes; I have never yet had a rub from any leather girth.  I do not like neoprene as it releases chemicals during use and unless you are scrupulous about washing/ rinsing after every use will it store sweat.  I suspect that these chemicals may sensitize the horse's skin.  I have used cotton/ cottage craft type girths and generally find they are not wide enough.

Stirrup Leathers and Irons.

I do not really have any preference. Leather is fine as long as you remember to replace them yearly and always take a spare to rides.  Remember as an endurance rider at any level you will be spending a lot more time in the saddle than the average rider.  Currently I am using the Zilco stirrup leathers as I really like the buckle design which minimises bulk under the rider's thigh. I am trying some of the podium mini fender style leathers on my new saddle this year.

One of the best investments you can make, in my opinion, to enhance rider comfort is to buy a flexible pair of irons as this will reduce the ankle and knee aches.  These come in either caged or non caged forms. Just make sure they are wide enough to get your foot in far enough before you buy them as otherwise they can cause unnecessary front of leg muscle strains.

Bridle.

An ordinary leather bridle is just as good as a synthetic here.  Though you might like to save your leather for best.  I personally like the Zilco bridles and bought a couple in the USA before they were widely available here.  The two styles I use are the standard bridle minus the noseband and with a clip at the throat with a hackamore and the combination bridle with Mylar bits. One of my horses has just the slip head as he does not like the pressure a browband puts on his ears.

Breast Plate/ Girth.

Again it is best to choose what suits you and your horse. I consider this vital equipment for any ride committed outside of East Anglia. My personal preference is a Zilco breast plate as they are so easy to clean and stand up to constant exposure to sweat and water well.

Boots.

During the Ride

I have often used New Equine Wear boots for my horses on rides and am pleased to say they sponsor me.  I like to cover just the area required, for example, if your horse only catches itself on its fetlock then only cover that area.  I currently use the grand prix fetlock boots and if my horse required more protection then I would use the Protective Exercise Boot.  I tried a pair of the airflow boots at the Forest of Dean ride and found that my horse's legs sweated less and were cooler at the end of a ride than they usually are.  They also did not rub. I covered 51km and he wore these for about 3hrs. 

I do not like neoprene boots for the same reasons I do not like neoprene girths.  Leather boots tend to slip down in wet going due to the fact they stretch as they soak up moisture.  This season I will be testing the airflow boots on my new mare. So far they have given good results and appear to leave the leg up to 10 degrees cooler at the time of removal, when compared to neoprene lined boots.

Post the ride.

I like to apply a cooling type of boot / wrap such as the  Gel Cells Wear sell, for about 30 minutes to an hour post completing a ride and during vet holds to minimise  odema build up as a result of concussion.  At the end of this period of cooling I then like to apply  NEW Magnet Therapy bootsovernight.  I recently carried out an experiment to see the effect of applying a pair to the hind legs and nothing to the front overnight post a ride and was surprised at the difference this made.  In the morning the hind legs were without any swelling while the front had the normal amount of swelling I expect post a ride.

Rugs.

I like to take several light rugs with me to a ride as this offers me the ability to fine tune the amount of clothing my horse requires in relation to the weather and the work he is doing.  This usually means I have a cotton summer sheet plus a mesh cooler, the ones Equest were giving away a while ago, a thermatex rug, a woollen day rug and a summer NZ. I will apply these as I see fit or not at all on a hot day, though care must be taken over using a summer NZ on a hot horse when it is raining as if the humidity is high it will hinder the horse cooling and could in fact cause it to heat up pushing the heart rate up.

For the Rider.

Boots.

A good pair of comfortable riding boots or if you prefer running shoes will suffice.  The choice  is yours. Personally I use Ariat's Cobalt Devon Pro paddock boot and have done so now for four years. I found they gave me more ankle support than trainers and also stopped the soles of my feet getting sore.  The only other boots I have found nearly as comfortable for riding were Brasher walking boots.

Half Chaps.

Again there is lots of choice out there in both design and material. I currently use a pair of  leather half chaps I had made to measure in 1999 as I have quite large calves for a female and could not find any that fitted me comfortably

Johdpurs.

Again here the key is finding a design that works for you and does not rub or pinch. I have tried many different manufacturers and the ones that work for me are Kerrits tights Kerrits tights.

Socks.

I know this may sound strange discussing socks but it makes a difference. To date I have been using cotton socks but find my feet get too hot and then my socks get wet from the sweat. Recently I have trid some cool max socks. As I have only competed in them once so far I a reserving judgment but they look promising.

Underwear.

Now this really matters and can make a difference between riding in pain or not.  I am currently trying a pair of T de T Michel Robert riding underwear courtesy of my sponsor  NEW.  I have so far used them during training and on a 51km graded ride.  To date they have not rubbed or chaffed and behave how underwear should i.e, you forget it is there.

Now the women only bit, sports bras. The only recommendations I can make here are find one you get on with.  The website I have found with the widest range is Less Bounce

Tops.

In the past I used cotton T-shirts, but at my partner's suggestion in 2005 I trialled walking / cycling wicking tops.  I rode at the Forest of Dean Bluebell ride in a long sleeved version of this type of top and no other covering on my upper body.  This  kept me adequately warm / cool, even in the breezy bits on top of the hills. I used both short and long sleeved versions over the season and will continue to do so in the future. I am now looking at a slightly heavier windproof version to use over the top instead of a sweatshirt.

Jacket.

Waterproof and Breathable would be my recommendations.  I have owned a Musto Goretex Professional riding coat for the last 16 years and it is still going. I am however trialing a different manufacturers this year

Hat.

Gloves.

I personally only ever used to wear gloves when it was freezing cold and even then I like them to be skin tight and not very bulky.  I have had to revise this since Berkshire Downs in 2005 where due to sweat I kept losing my grip on the reins and now will always ride at least the first loop of a ride wearing a pair of  Sport Gloves.

For Crewing.

Water Containers.

Ideally a 5 gallon container with a screw top with or without a tap and a wide mouthed funnel to make filling your slosh bottles easier. 

Slosh Bottles.

The cheapest item on this list, the standard preferred bottle throughout the endurance community  is the 2-3 L 'Lenor' conditioner bottle. 

Vehicle.

Crewing is possible out of almost any vehicle with a few exceptions such as a Lotus, Ferrari, Porsche, Zonda, Bugati, etc.  In the past I have used a Vauxhall Cavalier, BMW 5 Series, Volvo s80 and a Freelander.  Your choice of vehicle will obviously depend on a lot of things such as is it also your tow vehicle and how much you use it during the week.  I am fortunate enough to be able to work from home and therefore my choice of vehicle is not dictated by commuting.  In February 2005 I changed my 1.8 petrol Freelander for a double cabbed Mitsubishi L200 as I wanted something that was capable of towing 2 horses with minimal strain to the engine.

Firstly a few things to stop you following my course of action.

1) They only do about 25 mpg despite being diesel.

2) They are not the most roomy of vehicles for the passengers.

3) Due to the leaf suspension at the back they give a harsh ride from the rear unless loaded.

4) If you fit a top with no windows you will be charged as a light commercial on toll roads in the UK.

>Now for reasons why

1) You have more room available in the back than any other 4x4.

2) It is a true load area so you do not need to worry about water spills, etc. You can just hose out if required.

3) If you own a farm / keep your horses at home they have the added capability of being used to carry out some of your maintenance / yard work i.e, collecting hay, etc.

Gadgets.

Heart Rate Monitor.

I guess I must confess here to being a bit of a gadget lover.  These are not essential items at any level below Endurance Riding, more of a nice to have.  However if you intend to increase your horse' fitness level using interval training, they are a must have.

Prior to 2005 I had only ever used Polar models. My current version was a 610 model that can download information to the computer post use.  Polar provide a very good support service and you can talk direct to a representative Eric Chouhmat and they have a website at Polar Equine.  I would just like to take this opportunity to thank Polar for allowing me to use screen shots of their software on my website.

GPS

I tried using one of these about 6 years ago. It was a second-hand one from my sister that only used 9 satellites to locate itself and to be honest despite really liking the functionality but disliking the size, old mobile phone size, I really could not get good enough signal strength to make it a practical option.

However technology moves on. In 2004 I bought a Garmin Forerunner 201. Garmin are the leading manufacturer for the last 10 years or so.  For an example of the type of readout you get once the information is downloaded to your computer please see the Bluebell or Wharncliffe Chase ride reports on this website.  Part way through the season I upgraded to the forerunner 301 which is a combined GPS/ heart rate monitor.  The advantage to me of this was I only had one piece of kit I needed to strap onto the horse and myself and only one watch to start at the beginning of a race ride while holding an excited horse. Enough said I think.  You can also link to loads of free analysis software and create great reports  including 3D maps!

As for the unit itself it is light weight and only in very tall forests for a few seconds does it lose signal strength.  For more information go to Garmin.

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank Garmin for allowing me to use screen shots of their software on my website.

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Lights

I had an interesting moment one morning in February 2005, when I was overtaken by a motorist who then pulled in to a lay-by in front of me, got out and proceeded to berate me about my lack of care for my horse's welfare because I was riding with no lights.  I did have a fluorescent exercise sheet on and believe it or not had just ordered some lights from a cycle shop on the web.

I had just ordered a set of five flashing red LED lights that fit to your helmet and a white multi mode flashing LED light about the size of a 2 pound coin to hang off my horse's brow band.  I have now used these for several months and had drivers comment on how visible I am from a long distance away.

 

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