THOROUGHBRED ARAB HORSES ARE MAIN PICK OF ENDURANCE RIDERS FOR WEC

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 (Bernama) -- Thoroughbred Arab horses aged from six to 12 are the popular choice of a majority of riders competing in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) to be held at the Terengganu International Endurance Park (TIEP) in Lembah Bidong, Terengganu from Nov 6-9.

Terengganu is situated in north-eastern Peninsular Malaysia

Project Manager for WEC 2008 Malaysian riders, Mohd Din Mat said not all
bred are suitable for endurance races, especially to withstand the gruelling
160km endurance race at WEC, considered the toughest race in the world.

"The race is a real test and combination of the horses' stamina,
endurance
and the riders physical and mental strength. The Arabian horses are picked
because they are renown for their intelligence, high spirit and outstanding
stamina," he told Bernama here Tuesday.

Mohd Din said Malaysian riders, including the King Tuanku
Mizan Zainal Abidin too, would be using Arab horses during the
competition.

"Tuanku Mizan who qualified for the championship on merit, will be using
two
Arab horses named Taljari Moon Pharoah and Ibrahim Pascha Larzac, during the
competition," he said.

He added that apart from being physically and mentally fit, horses must
also
qualify for a Certificate of Competition (COC) from the Federation Equestrian
International (FEI) to compete in the bi-annual championship.

Mohd Din said endurance race horses needed special care, attention and food
to ensure they remained in good shape.

"Among the types of food consumed by such horses are Cuibes, Haven,
Chaff and their food are supplemented by vitamins.

"For race horses, expenses for food can cost anywhere between RM1,000 to
RM2,000 a month, based on the owner's financial capability," he
said.