Re: RC: Runners and horses

["Truman Prevatt, PhD" <truman.prevatt@netsrq.com>]

While we should not be only considering riders who want to top 10, we should not
exclude them either. There sometimes seems to me to be a "reverse snobbery" in
this sport, that is I perceive that some think that the "true endurance riders"
are the ones that ride to finish and the riders that "race" are somehow less
horsemen.  I've done both and neither is good and neither is bad, they are a
personal option.

While I personally don't do LD's  for speed conditioning, I do that in training
if I want a fast 25. I don't see a thing wrong with an LD for a little cruising
run.  I think if you ask Beth about speed work in humans she will be happy to
share that with you. Tom Ivers might throw in his two cents on horses.

Cheers
Truman

Lif Strand wrote:

> Truman wrote:
>
> >I would suspect that speed work is very important if you want to make it
> >to the top
>
> I thought the discussion was about "justifying" LD as conditioning for 50
> milers.  I have assumed (again, that word) we have not been discussing just
> riders competing for top 10; all along I have been referring to the runners
> as well as horse/rider teams who are competing to *finish*, not competing
> to *win*.  You know,  the rest of us.  The majority.  Since I am not and
> have never been interested in that level of competition,  I'm not the one
> to talk about making it to the top.
>
> I would, however, be curious as to where the stats and the studies are that
> demonstrate the benefits that are being claimed here for 50 mile horses
> competing in fast LDs, and whether or not these are benefits that apply to
> all categories of competitors (finish to win vs those riders competing to
> "make it to the top").  In other words, would Trilby be doing way, way
> better if she every so often rode a fast LD?  (Sorry, couldn't help myself).
>
> Lif Strand
> Quemado NM  USA
>

--
Vertex Engineering, Inc.
Innovative Solutions
Superior Support