Over on About.com Horses I posted about the Mongol Derby. This horse race is set to run starting August 22, 2009. It will cover 1000km (600mi)  over an unmarked course and is being promoted as “the biggest, baddest equine affair on the planet. “  It’s also becoming one of the most controversial equine events, in the ilk of the Omak Suicide Race. While two weeks is the allowable time to finish the race, organizers are expecting front runners to finish in as little as 5 days or 120 miles per day. It is expected that riders will change horse about every 25 miles (which may be difficult to ensure considering there is no marked route—what if riders get lost, and they do, even on marked trails).  And while a fresh horse every 25 miles may seem adequate, how will the fitness (not just basic health, but athletic conditioning) of each mount be ensured, what veterinary care will be available on trail, should a horse become injured or suffer metabolic distress, what water will be available and how much does each rider know about pacing a horse without stressing it?

No doubt some would argue that this sort or race is within the tradition of the Mongols, but a thinking person gets tired of stupidity justified by tradition. The Mongols also hold annual horse races 28km long with children as young as 5 riding. Children fall off, often in exhaustion, while horses routinely die of over exertion. While this may be tradition, there is nothing about it that can be called horsemanship.

Even the organizers have claimed that riders may face injury or death (but make no mention of the horse’s safety). Endurance riding associations on all continents have been very careful to create competitions where every advantage of education, technology and common sense are employed in the care of their horses and a race of this type is not just a return to  more  traditional primitive time, but unfortunately a more primitive mentality. The Long Rider’s Guild, an association of distance riders who explore remote areas on horseback, has condemned the race and some representatives fear it is a disaster in the making. I would encourage anyone who loves horses to learn more about this publicity stunt/horse race and add their name in protest.

• Fears voiced over 1000km Mongolian horse race
• Riders prepare for Mongol Derby: toughest horserace in the world