I have very seldom seen the top riders get into trouble. It is usually the
riders that over estimate the condition or ability of their horse or
underestimate the conditions of the day. As a vet told me one time, he
worries more about the "transitional horses" (those horses who riders are
trying to move from the back of the pack up to the middle of the pack) more
than the worries about the front runners.
If the rider detects that his horse is tiring quickly enough, five miles of
walking can do wonders for the recovery. I have seen horses that have come
back to gallop the last ten miles in great shape after walking the previous
five miles. But the rider has to be listening to what the horse is saying.
Truman
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The race is not always to the swift, but to those that keep running.
Truman and Mystic "The Horse from HELL" Storm
prevatt@lds.loral.com - Sarasota, Florida
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