Teddy
In a message dated 96-12-14 21:43:16 EST, I write:
<< I thought about it afterwards and wondered if MORE exercise during the
"loading" period would have helped...chances are I would have been better
off
not 'loading" to begin with...I started 4 days before event and the horse
had
only light exercise (what I normally did before a 100).
Teddy >> >>
On this specific point, tapering is tricky, especially with a very fit horse
and a carbo-loading program. You can get them jumping out of their skins
very
easily. It's a matter of dialing in the appropriate doses of exercise and
muscle fuel--for the individual horse. And, with reduced exercise and a full
carbohydrate diet, you DO risk tying up, at least in a racehorse 9the tying
up problem seems to originate in fast twitch muscle cells).
ti >>>>>
When my horse won the IAHA Nat'l Championship, it was his first 2-day 100, I
did not plan to "win" at all...he was just super that day..why??? Well,
coming off a suspensory injury from the previous year - 1989 (20 mile sinto
the Old dominion 100) I was very careful and did lots of long, slow miles. I
tried the OD in 1990, made it to 68 miles..at the low point for horse and
me..the vet said he looked "off' so we pulled. I saw no lameness, but
"unevenness" which looking back was more uneven ground (deep flattened grass
in a pasture to trot out on) and a horse moving BEFORE rest and after one
tough section of trail..hence without a lot of enthusiasm. I took him the
NEXT weekend to a 50 where it was 102 degrees and about 20 of the about 28
starters were either pulled or got in trouble and did not finish. He was
fifth (a VERY slow fifth..I was worried about soundness) and Best Condition.
That was in June..he had time off (slow miles at home) and did another 50
two weekends before the 2-day 100. We marked almost the entire trail (50
miles) the week before the ride (again, long slow miles). He never got tired
and never ran out of gas.
I am sure MANY a rider will tell you how much better a horse is with
back-to-back competitions. This same horse in 1988 did 4-5 rides every
weekend in a row and got stronger with each (almost all 50's)..then started
to show a decline. He was in the top ten for all, with the middle ride
receiving BC..then dropped back some..partly because they were faster rides
(Michigan flat land) and he was probably "running out of gas" (glycogen
stores??) where his best rides were in mountains with rocky footing and steep
grades.
Maybe I was just lucky as we cannot always "pick" what type of terrain to
compete on. We started with tougher terrain and ended up on easier terrain.
Sure taught me a lot...
Teddy