Re: RC:The Edge

[DebiG54@aol.com]

> Susan G:
>
> Thank you for one of the most important and informative explanations I've 
> ever read on ridecamp about our sport.  Your words are an important wake up 
> call to all of us, especially those of us who dare to push "the edge."  No 
> athlete reaches his true potential without tiptoeing along that precarious 
> edge, but horses don't have the luxury of a reasoning mind or the ability 
> to tell us when they're about to topple over that edge.
>
> I've flirted with the consequences of too fast, too much, too far as often 
> as anyone during competition and usually guessed right.  But the horse pays 
> when we guess wrong or deny the subtle or not so subtle signs.  From what 
> I've experienced with my own horses and what I've seen of others, the 
> horses who have long and successful careers at the top of this sport simply 
> teeter on the edge better than most.  A combination of careful management 
> and genetic gifts create the winners.  
>
> The fact is these horses will be stressed, really stressed.  It will be up 
> to us to both minimize the stress as much as possible and deal with it 
> intelligently as it goes.  Thanks, Susan.  Good stuff!
>
> By the way, there was a research ride held in Middleburg, VA three weeks 
> ago that may go a long way towards answering lots of our questions 
> regarding metabolic stress.  I was a participant along with 45 or so others 
> who allowed what must have been the most complete access ever to our horses 
> during a 50 mile competition.  This ride was a labor of love of many, 
> including Dr. Jeannie Waldron and many researchers at Virginia Tech.  The 
> horses were weighed pre-ride, at the halfway point and after the finish.  
> Four vials of blood were drawn from each horse upon arrival at the camp, 
> just before ride start, within 30 seconds to a minute of arrival (before 
> pulse check) at each of four vet checks, right at the finish line, and one 
> half hour after completion.  Temperatures were taken at each blood 
> opportunity.  Diets and supplementation were monitored in the weeks before 
> the ride and during the ride.  Ride management offered a new electrolyte 
> combo for those who were willing to try it.
>
> All participants received no AERC credit but offered up each horse as a 
> guinea pig to this huge project.  The results should be very helpful to us 
> all as they're published.  If no one else talks about the results as they 
> come out, I'll pass it on to ridecamp as they come to me.  
>
> Debi Gordon