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RE: [RC] Glucose curves and bonking - heidiHowever, if exercise goes on and on and on, blood glucose continues to drop, eventually to dangerous levels. Before those dangerous levels are reached, you hit the "bonk". But if it's the horse hitting the bonk, the rider may not understand what is happening--thinking the severely reduced performance requires more water or elytes. Exercising past the bonk is dangerous, particularly in the horse--because the gut needs glucose to operate properly. So does the brain, but the gut will shut down before the brain. This is one reason why the concept of "winning by finishing" can be very dangerous. Those that are going for a win, on a horse capable of a win, will typically pull their horse if it bonks--no need to punish a valuable horse that is having a bad day for whatever reason. Those that think finishing is winning will go on, even if they have to get off and drag the horse behind them. While Tom is right about the need to not continue on a horse that is not maintaining his energy levels, I think it's been awhile since he's been behind the scenes at very many rides. (Actually, I don't think he has hung out in the vetting area watching the bulk of the horses even at the few rides he has attended, or gone down the trail with them, so I'm not sure where he gets his information regarding the finishers dragging their horses.) The scenario he describes was a bit more frequent in years past, but is certainly far from the norm at rides. Most riders ride their horses well within their capacities, realizing that they aren't meant for the win and pacing accordingly all day long. We used to have a saying back in the 70s that the one whose horse quits first is last and the one whose horse quits last is first. Indeed, many people "back then" rode "balls to the wall" and then when the horses ran out of gas, they dragged them. I remember all too well passing a prominent rider in the early 70s and having him take a lathe stake to his horse's butt to try to get him to keep going. Ugly. But that hasn't been the status quo in this sport for two to three decades. The norm among the "finish is to win" pack is maintenance of a healthy, happy horse that can cheerfully keep going at the pace that they maintain. This group is also usually quicker to pull at the sign of trouble than the one that is just a few heartbeats short of first place. Their horses come trotting into the checks with their eyes bright and their ears up, they pulse right down, and they hit the chow. Saddle back up to go out, their ears are up and they are eager. I've seen more than a few of these horses still dragging their riders in their trot-outs, many miles into rides. Not exactly the picture of a hypoglycemic horse, ridden past his energy capabilities. Those driven "wannabes" who try to keep up with the ones who HAVE done their homework for the win are the dangerous ones. Fortunately they are not plentiful in this sport. BTW, the "finish is to win" crowd often has its eye on other "winning" goals--mileage awards, career mileage, etc. They stay well within their horse's parameters because their goal requires that the horse be well enough to ride next weekend, too. That doesn't happen if they ride their horse out of a healthy blood sugar range and do damage. There are more kinds of "winning" than being first place on a specific ride. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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