Re: RC: adjusting to altitude

[Kirsten Foruria <kirsten@vermilion.reno.nv.us>]

Cool, I didn't know about horses storing extra RBCs (wouldn't that be
nice if we humans could do that too!).

Since it's a topic of interest to me (and sounds like to others too),
would you mind explaining what happens physiologically to the horse over
the three week period of acclimatizing?  Is it just releasing even more
RBCs or is there more to it? I'd also be interested in knowing why three
weeks is optimal and how complete the accimatization actually is.
Lastly, why is it that horses don't do as well as mules and burros once
you increase the altitude much beyond about 10,000 to 12,000 feet? Does
anyone have a contrary experience?

--
Kirsten (Price) Foruria
Vermilion Desert Ranch
Reno, Nevada



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=