hot weather syndrome

[Chelle Sherman <cms@fluent.com>]

Hmmm - I've been following this thread on hot weather syndrome with
great interest. Sue's last comment struck a chord with me, when she said
"...many horses with all A's at the previous vet check have problems
when you add more miles. The hard part is why does this happen?" I have
two thoughts to offer here. First, I'm not sure what's physiologically
going on, but I would bet that the issue is heat dissipation having some
profound effect on the horse. Some horses probably have better
circulation and other combinations of predisposition and conditioning
that enables them to handle it, others don't do as well. The other
thought I have is this: why not shorten the ride on these high
heat/humidity index rides, rather than extending the hold times? I would
bet that part of the problem is that shear length of time spent working
in those conditions takes its toll, regardless of the pace. I think that
ECTRA and similar CTR organizations should just allow ride managers to
shorten the ride when the index gets to some predetermined number. Let's
say by a distance of up to 1/4 the total ride length. This might be
logistically difficult in terms of setting and marking trail, but this
could be worked out by setting up the trail with a last loop running
close to camp that could easily be lopped off. Sanctioning shouldn't be
effected, and full mileage should be rewarded as far as points are
concerned - after all, the horses' physical output is still comparable
to the full distance when the conditions are like that! This could be
done with endurance as well, although I have a feeling it would be less
popular an idea. CTR is a conditioning contest - the distance is
somewhat arbitrary as long as all horses do the same distance. What do
you all think?

Chelle Sherman and Mystik Star
Plainfield, NH


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