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[RC] "mongol " derby - Karen

At 02:11 PM 6/29/2009, you wrote:
So I went and read the website about the race.................yep it does
seem to have some problems some veterinary control being one of them
however each of these horses is only going 25 miles, o.k. before I get
slammed I realize that 25 miles can be dangerous on a horse however we are
not talking galloping a horse 100 miles, we are talking about horses that
run wild ( are going to  be in decent shape, wild horses roam about 25
miles a day in search of food and water)who are used to the weather
conditions.

Actually - these horses are not necessarily going to be conditioned or even trained.  I've posted two more articles about the event and there is still a lot of information to share. 

1)  Horse safety and the Mongol Derby  This includes an email exchange between the Long Rider's and the Adventurists (the company putting on the event)

2)  A warning of the real dangers in Mongolia  An excerpt:  I do not believe the race organizers have been completely clear about the size of the horses. They
are very small and simply cannot carry heavy Westerners for any significant distance, even at a walk.   and    Did the organizers tell you that the typical jockeys in Mongolia are children under ten years of age? This is a fact and as hard as it is for us to believe, it is acceptable in Mongolia.

I think it's great that so many people are willing to step up to the plate in defense of these horses - and yes, even in defense of these naive riders who have no idea what danger awaits them and their mounts.  This is being promoted as the "toughest horse race on earth".  The website says that some may finish in a week - in order to go 1000 km in a week you aren't going to be going at a speed that these little Mongolian horses will be able to handle. 

Karen