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[RC] impressive records - Ridecamp GuestPlease Reply to: wendy lumbert wendy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== Carla, this doesn't answer my question but just for the heck of it I'll answer yours the best I can.ie "A horse will do all he can, especially if he's pushed to it. How long he lasts in the sport is another thing." In the example I gave, that horse ran willingly and he ran over 3000 miles in the top ten. He was never, ever pushed. (quite the contrary!) "There are exceptional horses,exceptional atheletes, and exceptional circumstances. " True that! "I think horses of "today" are accumulating more lifetime mileages because we know how to care for them more, and yes maybe coddle them more." I can't agree with that but its a big long discussion on another topic. Coddling is not the answer and maybe lifetime miles isn't the goal for some. "Why? I'd rather have a horse last for years than set a record for a year or two. You can do research and find the exceptions to the rule, of course!, the horses that did it in spite of what was done to them." Who says you can't have both?? And please don't imply that all the record-setting horses had it "done to them." Or that they didn't last long. Au contraire! "So prove me wrong -- what are the stats on earlier horses that were seemingly taken from the pasture (I don't believe that either - they were probably working horses and kept in condition) versus the carefully trained (coddled?) horses of today." Who said anything about horses "taken from pasture?" What I would really like to know is why a horse can do this 18 years ago with little of the technology we have now but you rarely if ever see one performing like that now? Here's a clue - do you really think horses are more well trained now? I don't. When I first began endurance I learned from "old hands" and we routinely rode our horses far, hard, often and fast. For the past few years I have met more and more "weekend riders" who believe that a horse can be well-conditioned with just being ridden on weekends. OR, that once they are in shape they only need a little jaunt now and then to keep condition. Anyone else ever wonder why we haven't really come all that far in nearly twenty years? (and I'm talking about the average US endurance horse, not the record-setting arab's horses) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 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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