If only somebody had done research on the effects
of weight on a horses preformance.... Somebody has. Every Racing Secretary
at every horse racetrack in the world that has handicap races does this on
a regualr basis.
I believe it has been fairly well accepted that
about 2 pounds will make a one legnth difference in a one mile horse race.
(between two otherwise equal horse). This is subject to variation due to
age of the horse, track conditions, heat etc. Most experts seem to feel
weight has an increasing effect the farther the horse runs. For instance it is
more important in a 1 /14 mile race than in a 440 yard race.
So it should be fairly simple to do the physics
here for endurance. Let's see. 2 pounds make a one length differance at
one mile . Oh crud. Was it 2 pounds or one kilogram? Hmm ok.. how
long was the horse? Do they measure a length standing still or the legs
extending runnig horse? So maybe ...what 8 feet difference at one
miles times 50 miles.... plus factoring in the added stress of
uphills, of course allowing for 5 degree climbs and 7 degree climbs... and
then factoring in downhill... does the extra weight make them go faster
downhill? Dang this is getting harder... Then all we have to do is factor
in the surface factors. For the part of the ride riden in soft sand it is a
weight factor of "x" and for that of rocky ground it is " Y"
So (!/3 X over 4/6 Y ) x2(riders weight overage) x
D ...minus wind .... ah the heck with it.... I'm just gonna go ride.. This is
giving me a headache.
The fun part of this sport is that I don't have to worry about this kind of junk. I just get
out there and ride through the woods until i think he is fit enough, and then go
play with other fools who think the same thing so we can ride 25-50 miles. We
sometimes even get t-shirts when its' over. Hard to beat that.
