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Re: [RC] long first loops (long) - rides2farI'm with you. HATE long first loops. The sooner those horses get split up by recovery rates the better, and in the humid parts of the country the sooner the riders start giving electrolytes the better. I prefer at least a short hold thrown in just to let the horse's adrenaline level stabilize. If you just hurry through the pulse down and take off they never get to that point where they "take that long breath" and settle. The only place I can stand a 20 mi. first loop is maybe in a 100. Things are so much more calm and you just don't get that wild stamped mindset in the horses. Angie On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 21:10:42 GMT Ridecamp Guest <guest-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes: Please Reply to: Debbie Ager dager@xxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== I would like to address an issue that came up at the Old Glory TERA Benefit ride this year in Texas, and then was brought up again in the TERA newsletter and also in the Endurance News. The issue is the length of the first loop before a hold. There has lately been a trend in Texas in which the first loop has become 20 to 25 miles long, before any sort of a hold. The thinking behind this trend has been to get half of the trail out of the way before the Texas heat sets in, which seems to make sense, on the surface. There are many people who support this opinion, and I have heard various defenses for it which I will address individually later on in this letter. I would first like to assert that I disagree with the opinion that having a 20-25 mile loop before the first hold in a 50-55 mile ride is in the best interest of the welfare of the horse, for two reasons. First, such a long loop is detrimental to the metabolic health of most horses, as I will explain, and secondly, leaving the option to ?take a break? while on the clock to see to the horses needs potentially rewards those who don?t take care of their horses with higher place ranking. One of the reasons I was given (by a veterinarian) in support of the long first loop was that it is better for the horse to complete the first half of the course before the main heat of the day sets in, since most of the horses seem to have more trouble along about the third loop. My contention is that this is not necessarily true for the following reasons: 1. It is generally much more humid in the early morning which makes it more difficult for the horse to cool itself through evaporation. 2. Horses are less likely to drink on the first loop, due to the excitement, and the longer the loop, the longer it will be before the horse relaxes enough to drink. Such a horse would not show the signs of this early dehydration until later in the day when it catches up with him, giving the false impression that it was the heat that dehydrated it rather that the first 25 miles without water. 3. There is a greater chance that a less fit horse under a less experienced rider will get pulled along with the front runners for the entire 25 miles, becoming exhausted and increasing the chances that it will have metabolic distress. Another person supporting the long loop said that those people whose horses need a break are welcome to take one anywhere along way to care for their horses. This, to me, is just plain ridiculous. After all, an endurance ride is a competitive event, even if not everyone is competitive who participates, and such an attitude penalizes those who take better care of their horses with added time and lower place ranking. If we truly wish to promote the welfare of the horse, it makes more sense to reward those people, rather than give them a time penalty. I would like to propose an alternative that I believe would protect the horses while still keeping everyone out of the worst of the heat. I propose a pulse down into a 10-15 minute hold at 10-15 miles, preferably (although not necessarily) at camp. This would benefit the horses in the following ways: 1. It would separate those horses who are fit enough to run up front from those getting pulled along earlier in the course. 2. It would give the rider an opportunity to check recovery and administer electrolytes without a time penalty. 3. It would give the horses a chance to relax and get a drink of water early enough in the ride to help avoid extreme dehydration. 4. It would give the rider a chance to evaluate his horse earlier than the mid-point of a 50 mile event to detect any problems that might be masked by the excitement of being on trail the first loop. Another defender of the 25 mile first loop said that in 100 mile rides, 20-25 mile first loops are common. I would like to point out here that many people ride in 50?s because they are not mounted on 100 mile horses. When my horse is ready for the challenges posed by a 100 mile ride, I?ll move up to 100?s, but there is a definite step there. Obviously, multi-day rides are a different story. When you are planning to ride your horse 150+ miles in three days, your ride plan is entirely different than it is for a one-day 50. Most people ride very conservatively, and 25 mile first loops are common and ?par for the course?, so to speak. But many one-day 50?s are races, and there is nothing wrong with that, so long as the horses are cared for. My proposal is not a new idea, and it allows for the competitive aspect of the sport without either sacrificing the horse, or penalizing those who take the necessary time to care for him. In fact, the only negative aspect of my proposal is that it could means more of hassle for ride management. However, if the hold were in camp, sufficient volunteers could probably be rounded up to do the pulsing in without causing too much of a back-up. I think that the prospect of fewer metabolic and dehydration-related problems would likely outweigh this inconvenience. Just my opinion as a (sometimes) competitive rider and (always) horse-lover. Debbie Ager AERC# M20186 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. 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