Re: Re: LSD and dense tissue (was Early Training)

["Susan Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

> Susan,
> Do bones, tendons and ligaments loose strength during a lay-up?  If so,
how
> long does it take to get them back to competition strength again?
> Thanks,
> Julie

Bone, definitely.  It's an incredibly dynamic tissue, so disuse means loss,
though not back to starting levels.  Tendon and ligament aren't as dynamic,
so I don't believe you tend to lose it nearly as much.  What's slow to build
up is also going to be slow to lose.  As far as I know, there haven't been
any studies for endurance-type situations (not surprising, the endurance
research is sadly lacking in most areas), but I think there is a general
rule of thumb that once a horse has been in tip-top shape, you should allow
half the layoff time to bring them back to more or less the same level---ie,
a six month layoff should take three months to bring them back.

I know there are lots of people that don't allow that much time to bring a
horse back, but, well....there are lots of people that will race a horse
four months after starting LSD, too.

Susan G