Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> > > We need to consider the seasonal time and location of all major rides.
Perhaps avoid the time of year that is a definite "season change"
or consider encouraging more acclimation time for out of region horses.<<<

Part of what makes our sport called "endurance" is the elements created by
the weather. Temperature, humidity levels, and precipitation levels all add
to the weather. Horses that live and are conditioned in a humid part of the
world, I would assume would have an easier go at a ride with humidity, than
a horse coming from a very dry area. The terrain of rides also add to the
"endurance" part of the name of our sport. Horses who live and train in
fairly flat areas (such as I do here in Texas) might have more issues going
to a ride such as Tevis, than those who live in the area, and get to train
on those types of mountains.

All parts of the US seem to have something different, that makes it
"endurance" for horses for different parts of the US. Bring one of your
California horses out here to do a ride in Texas in June, and that humidity
will be tough on them. So, a rider who chooses to do a ride in conditions
that differ from what they are used to doing, can plan ahead, to either get
the horse acclimated to the conditions they will be racing on, or ride
accordingly during the ride, to compensate for the issues the horse could be
having with these conditions.

I left No. Texas with the temps pushing 100F during the day, and night time
LOWS at 80F, and drove to the Bryce XP, where the daytime temps were 80F,
and night time got into the lower 40's. I planned ahead with plenty of
blankets to keep my short coated horses warm, and gave them extra mashes of
beet pulp to help keep they hydrated (as I felt they would not be drinking
as well with this cooler weather). We had altitude of 6000-8000' to deal
with, which they were not used to, so I watched them closely when we were
riding, especially during steep climbs.  While I do not have that many miles
of competition in AERC rides, this was not rocket science to me. I knew we
would have different conditions, and I did what I felt that I needed to do,
to have my horses perform to the best of their ability.

Before XP2001, the horses I was to crew for were brought out to Texas, from
California to get acclimated to more humid conditions, as we felt this is
what we would be expecting during the beginning of the XP. Also, it gave us
just one travel day to the beginning of the ride, so not as tough on the
horse as hauling 3-5 days, then starting.  We considered the conditions, and
did what we felt was best for the horses to compete at their best.

I think if every ride was 70F, and 20% humidity, with no climb over 1000',
it would take some of the endurance out of our sport. Sounds pretty boring
to me. If we want cookie cutter conditions at every ride, and "perfect"
weather, it sounds actually boring. When the Olympics came to Atlanta,
riders KNEW what conditions to expect, and trained and cared for those
conditions. Not many places match the conditions of Atlanta during the
summer....well, except Florida, the Carolinas, and Texas.......

I would love to hear from other riders who found the conditions at the Pan
Am's difficult for their horses, and what they did to prepare, and what they
would do different if they were to do it again, knowing now what they know
from that ride.  Unfortunately, other peoples problems and mistakes, are
what we often learn the most from.

Jonni



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

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!!

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