Re: RC: Re: Re: minimum maximum mileage

[Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>]

At 12:13 AM 4/3/00 -0400, you wrote:
> my experience is that most of them over train
> and it's  SPEED on race day that is the problem, not distance.
> >>
>
> If speed is the culprit, then they're undertrained for speed.
> Over-training 
> has a very specific meaning in exercise science. I've yet to see an 
> overtrained horse, but I've seen plenty of over-raced horses. I'm sure
> it's 
> the same in endurance competition. 
>
> ti

If any one horse can do the distance at a given speed successfully, and
another can't, then the first horse showed it's possible and the second
shows that it was not conditioned to do that speed at that distance or
else isn't suited for that speed at that distance.  

Either way, seems to me the problem should have been discovered during
condtioning, not at the race.  If we all know that you never ever
use brand new, untried equipment at a race, why doesn't this apply to
speed?  If you aren't conditioning at that speed for the given
distance at home, isn't it like coming to the race with a brand new piece
of equipment?  

I know that some percentage of LD riders & new riders of longer
distances do train at speed - but then I have to wonder at the base on
those horses prior to the speed work.  Speed in itself doesn't kill
- it's lack of preparation for speed that kills (and bad judgement by
riders who don't notice that they're not prepared & only find out
when the horse crashes).

It would be interesting to know what the conditioning history of any
pulled horse is at races of whatever distance.  Now that would be
well spent research funding.  Lif

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