Basic
theory then Truman is if the track is hard the horse will get pulled for
lameness, if the track is soft the horse will get pulled for
metabolic.
So, we
must chose our tracks for a medium condition and then we can
finish?
No, I
believe we must condition our horse for all types of terrain and ride
accordingly.
Bob
Bob Morris
Morris Endurance Enterprises
Boise, ID
You answered your own question. With the hardness
of the surface the impulsive forces go up - the surface absorbs less. As the
speed goes up the less the time the foot and leg have to deal with the force
so the time rate of change of the momentum goes up - hence the impulsive
forces go up. These too together imply a higher impulsive force for a horse
going 16 mph on a hard packed road than on a horse going at 8 mph in softer
footing.
Under these conditions the peak loading on the foot and leg
are greater than for a horse going at 8 mph in soft footing and it is peak
loading that causing things to break. I would expect on high profile
rides (read this to mean races) on flat hard footing, the foot and legs
ability to deal with the high peak loading may give out (resulting in a
lameness pull) before metabolic issues arise. And conversely on a course with
soft footing the foot and leg have less implosive forces do deal with so their
ability to deal with that give more horses time to develop metabolic problems.
Truman
Steph Teeter wrote:
Jaye - as a farrier, what is your gut feeling on
the causes of lameness in endurance horses? I read once that over 3/4 of the
lamenesses in performance horses (not necessarily endurance) could be
attributed to the feet. You have an exceptional eye for gait irregularities,
and I know you have spent a lot of time watching horses move. Does this seem
like a likely estimate? It sure seems that on courses like the one in Spain,
that are flat and primarily hard packed trail or road - that the foot would
be the first thing to feel the effect...
Steph
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