Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

	I think one of the problems with this perennial debate is this: posters 
keep repeating "AERC defines endurance as 50 miles"...and many of those who 
ride exclusively LD consider this definition arbitrary and 
elitist.  "Arbitrary" because if AERC defines endurance as 50 miles, they 
could just as easily pick another number--for example 25.  "Elitist" 
because they believe the resistance to doing so is probably rooted in a 
desire to retain somebody to look down on as inferior.  In fact, though, 
this dividing line is more than just a matter of semantics.  There really 
IS a difference; the oldtimers (sorry Joe, Maryben, Louise, etal) who drew 
the line at 50 knew this empirically based on their experience with many 
different horses and distances in a time when we had fewer tools (lytes, 
hrms, etc).  Recent research has validated their opinion.
	The extensive work done by Gayle Ecker and others at a large number of 
ROCs, WECs, WEGs, PACs, and the Tevis all indicate that by far the greatest 
losses of fluids, electrolytes, etc occur in the first 25 miles of the 
ride.  How the horse fares in the next 25 to 75 miles is determined by the 
degree of these losses, and the horse/rider management of them.  When the 
horse stops at 25 miles, he never faces this challenge.  In other words, we 
see "endurance" as the ability to recover and continue on.  When 
'completion' is based on recovering, but NOT continuing on, you have 
another sport--a valid and legitimate sport, but not "endurance", per se.
	What does this have to do with BC?  The AERC BC form is designed with 
emphasis on the "vet score" portion, to allow the vets to select the horse 
that really is in superior shape.  When the ride ends before the horses are 
subjected to the above challenges, it is much harder for the vets to 
'separate the field' according to parameters. The time differences among 
the top ten horses in an LD ride are similarly likely to be 
insignificant.  That brings it down to pretty much a matter of the heaviest 
rider.  That isn't really what the "BC award" is intended for, is it?


terre (#2548)

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We are talking about all the tools we can use to keep our horses safe and
alive at the rides. Training/conditioning is one of the best tools
available. It makes us better horseman and women, it benefits our horses
and could quite possibly be the key to preventing most crashes.
~ Lisa Salas - The Odd Farm

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