On her website, Dr. Deb says, "We also need to remember the speed factor: the quickest way to kill a horse, lame him up, ruin his back, or destroy the most valuble part of him of all--his willingness to put forth effort--is to race. Over long distances and terrain, "race" means to average more than 4.5 m.p.h. (Winners in today's 75-100 mile races are doing 5 to 6 m.p.h. average; winners in the shorter races of 35 to 50 miles may sometimes average more than 6 m.p.h. This is why our friend, mentor, and former Olympic endurance competitor Dr. Matthew Mackay-Smith, D.V.M advises all riders to stay completely away from 35-50 mile races--they are horse-killers unless you're there just to enjoy the trail and the day and you keep your average speed down below 5 m.p.h.)"
Somehow this just doesn't ring true to the facts of what is actually happening at rides, at least not at the ones I am entering. Many times the front runners also win BC so there are horses that certainly can run at speed with no ill effects at shorter distances. I know that average ride speed can be deceptive as it includes down time like water stops on the trail, grazing on the trail, walking into vet checks, and waiting for P&Rs. These things do make your actual average riding time slower. But averaging 6 miles per hour at a 50 is not a winning time. I think if you check the results randomly across the board you will see that very few rides have winners with the speeds you mention above. I am surprised to hear that MMS would make those comments as he is (was) a "racer" and did not ride a 5 MPH pace the year he won Tevis. I doubt he rode 5 MPH when he won Old Dominion. Speed probably is the quickest way to harm a horse IF the horse is not prepared and conditioned for a given pace or speed. But I completely disagree with an across the board statement that the speed factor is harmful.
How many people take the full ride time to complete? That is what the 5 m.p.h speed, whether you are doing a 100 miles in about 20 hours or 25 miles in 5 hours, works out to be. Has anyone here heard Dr. Matthew Mackay-Smith, D.V.M. say something like this?
The best way to find out how many people take the full time to complete would be to check some of the ride results. Taking a longer time on the trail is not always better. The horses have less recovery time back at camp to eat and rest before going home, they have to carry the weight of the rider for many more hours, etc.
