Tevis-metabolic pulls

[Adrienne Bassett <weabe@ix.netcom.com>]

I am relatively new to endurance riding (hunter/jumper/race track 
background), but have competed in endurance events myself ( marathoner, 
triathlete, 3 x Ironman distance finisher ) and can reasonably guess that a 
qualifying ride for Tevis would probably NOT reduce the number of metabolic 
pulls.  Each race is an entity unto itself and as we used to say in 
triathlon: "A lot of things can happen in an Ironman race and most of them 
are bad!" I am thinking this is probably true also with Tevis or any other 
100 mile race. A lot of factors contribute to metabolic pulls, and if there 
were a prescription for eliminating them, there would be none. Sometimes 
the best laid plans go awry for any number of reasons beyond one's control. 
There have been instances of human athletes getting caught up in the 
excitement of competing and not even knowing they're in trouble until it's 
gone too far. I myself ended up in the medical tent on IV's after finishing 
Ironman Canada (but I qualified for Hawaii!); I had no idea things were 
that bad until well after I finished and I was doubled over with abdominal 
cramps, so I suspect the same could happen with our horses. If people can't 
tell what's going on with their own bodies, how can we be 100% perceptive 
to our partners' feelings of well/ill being? I'm just saying that metabolic 
pulls are not necessarily the result of poor preparation or lack of 
experience and I believe that requiring a qualifying race would possibly 
result in fewer entries, but I would doubt metabolic pulls would decrease 
percentage-wise. Just my 2 cents worth. Back to lurking.

Adrienne Bassett
Estacada, OR