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[RC] Average Speed at Rides - rides2farOn 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 Where do you start on a statement like that? If it were true that the quickest way to kill/ruin, yadda yadda a horse was to go over 4.5 mph over distance...well...we'd have a zillion dead horses a year instead of a handful. What are we doing wrong? I mean...assuming the statement is true, why aren't they dying? Most of the 50's I go to have everyone in before 10 hrs. And as to racing "destroying his willingness to put forth effort"...well I don't know about ya'll, but racing destroys *my* horse's willingness to WHOA DANGIT! Nothing makes a horse insist on racing like racing...that's the hardest thing about it...keeping them from getting too obsessed with it! I understand that Deb's probably referring to the extremely, sadly overtrained horse, but some people are going to take this quote literally and be holding their poor horse back to 4.5 mph when it would be far more comfortable at 6 or 7. Angie All this talk of a horse not being mature till he's what...9? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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