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RE: [RC] Weight - heidi

Aw, c'mon, Bruce--you're a doc, you know your physiology better than that.
 
We wear tights and running shoes for comfort--ever see what the seams of blue jeans or the buckles on chaps do to the insides of your legs at the speeds and distances that we ride??  I used to wear stuff like that back in my range riding days, and I can personally vouch for the difference when it comes to personal comfort.  (Can't begin to count the number of blisters I had as a kid from wearing cowboy boots--they were ok when I was mounted, but hell for walking!)
 
We use nylon gear because it is waterproof and handy. 
 
I don't know anyone who won't buy a 10-lb heavier saddle if it fits their horse better.  I don't want a 40 lb one because I can't lift it up on my horse, but I sure won't quibble over 15 lbs or 25 lbs.  (That short burst of lifting that saddle up there IS an anaerobic activity, for me...)
 
And the light riders step up to the plate and carry weights all the time in FEI competition--and still do great.
 
Heidi



So why is everyone wearing tights instead of chaps? Tennis shoes
instead of boots? Twelve pound saddles instead of roping saddles? Nylon
saddle bags instead of leather saddle bags? One of the first riders of
the Tevis carried farrier tools with him and was told he'd have to leave
them behind due to the weight. Why 16 oz water bottles instead of a
metal gallon canteen?
 Clearly there is an ongoing movement to make our equipment lighter.
And I have yet to have a light weight rider throw down and agree to
carry what my horse carries so they can legitimately say at the end of
the day: "See? I told you added weight makes no significant difference."
I think many would be very reluctant to toss an extra  80 lb bag of feed
on the back of their horse to even the weights carried and chase me down
the trail. What about the effect of lugging it uphill? Up a Tevis
canyon? Aren't there formulas bandied around that a horse really
shouldn't carry more than 20-25% of his body weight? Why? What would
more weight than that do?
   I think the burden of proof lies on those who ride at lighter
weights to show that  weight  makes no appreciable difference, before
they can lay claim that it's already a level playing field. I'll rest my
case with good ol' physics. And, Joe, the fact that some heavyweights
have done well is anecdotal at best, and may only prove that
heavyweights have to pay more attention to their horsemanship skills to
not only overcome their disadvantage, but to excel in spite of it. It's
not logical to conclude when a heavyweight does well that it was because
he had just as good of a chance against the factors working against his
horse as a rider that is 75 pounds lighter.
  Maybe I can make my point another way. Now that we can clone horses,
let's say we have two equally talented clones, conditioned and fed
identically. Traveling over the same given course but with a 75 lb
weight difference between the riders, who wants to step up and bet a
week's pay on the heavier rider?  Dr Q, who is on the lighter side of heavy
 
 


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