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Actually in the SE there are plenty of LD riders going for the win. For 
the most part they are riding conditioned horses that are capable of the 
task. Most could do a 50 with no problem if the riders chose to - which 
they don't. That nonwithstanding they are going slower on the average 
than 50's on the same course. That is the 50's are going faster and 
twice as far - and we have some pretty fast LD times in the region - 
probably faster than any region.

The last time I saw an LD treatment was in 1999 and that was a brutal 
day. I've seen a lot of treatments on 50's and 100's since. BTW the the 
range of the Timber Rattlesnake does not include Arizona. 
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/er/factsheets/herps/timber.htm
http://herpcenter.ipfw.edu/index.htm?http://herpcenter.ipfw.edu/outreach/accounts/reptiles/snakes/Timber_Rattlesnake/index.htm&2

For some reason we don't seem to have the "new riders running the snot 
out of their ill conditioned horses in LD's" in the SE. I expect the 
same is true for the NW, CT and MW.

That is probability you don't see any in AZ :-) .

Our "myths" are perceptions based on observations and if our 
observations are normally limited geographically since while endurance 
riding is national, most of us ride regionally.

Truman

However, the Western Diamondback does.

Bruce Weary wrote:
> Myth 1) LD riders ride faster that endurance riders so we need more 
> rules to slow them down.
>
> It is comparing apples to oranges to say that winning times for 
> endurance rides are faster than LD winning times. Of course they are. 
> Winning endurance horses are conditioned (or should be) to the point 
> where they can sustain speeds of 10-12 mph, and do it safely 
> (hopefully) for twice the distance. Although there are some horses 
> that can maintain that speed in an LD, most can't, and that is partly 
> responsible for their slower ride times. Those who aren't in hurry 
> bring the ride times down, too. In fact, it could be argued that many 
> racing LD horses, if asked to continue on for another 25 miles, might 
> not be able to, or get in trouble trying. There has been some clinical 
> evidence that a horse doesn't start really dipping into his reserves 
> of energy, fluids and electrolytes until sometime after 25 miles. 
> Beginners in an LD ride ought not be going even close to the speed of 
> racing endurance horses. The safety margin lies in the discrepancy of 
> conditioning between the two situations. This isn't revealed by simply 
> comparing ride times.
>
> Myth 3) Limited distance riders are more likely to over ride a horse.
> Beginner horses are usually, by definition, less conditioned, and 
> potentially have less resilience to the effects of overriding. The 
> beginner rider may be less aware of signs of lameness or impending 
> metabolic crises, and less prepared to handle them as well. All horses 
> at all distances deserve to be protected, and many LD horses, by 
> virtue of the lack of experience in the rider, and the lack of 
> conditioning in the horse, are at substantially higher risk. This 
> statistical risk is reduced with increased experience and increased 
> conditioning, at least theoretically. There is always someone out 
> there willing to be the exception to the rule.
> "I can't remember the last time I saw an LD horse requiring treatment."
> Well, I can't remember the last time I saw a timber rattlesnake, but 
> they're all over here in Arizona. 


--

“It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how 
smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong” Richard 
Feynman, Nobel Laureate in Physics


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