Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

	I have been too busy to take an indepth look at Truman's work, but I, for 
one, would like to applaud him for the effort he has put into trying to 
make some kind of sense of what data we DO have available.  If there are 
errors or omissions it merely proves we must all try to be more accurate in 
the future.

	The trick, of course, is in interpreting the data.  For example, people 
are expressing shock or outright denial at the numbers showing that the 
multi-days are not, in fact, being ridden slower.  Possible explanations? 
1)'easier' terrain? (you can jog all day and average the same speed as 
alternatively galloping and walking) 2)inaccurate mileage? (all the one day 
rides are, in fact, a little long.....).
	Karen C. commented that she has seen far more treated horses at single day 
rides than multidays, but in the June EN she quotes the preeminent multiday 
rm/vet as saying that treatments (at Cuyuma) would be sent to the nearest 
hospital.  This could explain her not 'seeing' as many....(or not!)
	Of the seven equine deaths reported in the June EN, 2 of them happened at 
a multi-day--ie 28% of fatalities in 2002 happened at 'multiday rides' in 
spite of the fact that they constitute a much small percentage of ride 
demographics--meaning that they are more, not less, dangerous to horses....
	The last two paragraphs illustrate the perils of accepting anecdotal 
evidence, or looking at a very small sample size (fatalities in 1 
season).  T analysed thousands of data to arrive at the conclusions that 
that data revealed; if the conclusions are inaccurate it reflects our 
failure to report accurately, or perhaps a historical indifference to the 
importance of data collection.  Let's move on and try to do better.
	Again, I appreciate the work Truman put into this, and the countless hours 
Bob Morris, Mike and Russ, and John Teeter have dedicated into trying to 
gather, collate, and analyse the statistics that we pour benighted ride 
managers present them with.

terre


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=