Re: [RC] [AERC-Members] Where to start/tools - Truman Prevatt
A good observation, Lisa.
I suspect the bottom line is under preparation may be a significant
factor in metabolic problems at rides, be it metabolic pulls or actual
breakdown. I also expect people "training at a slower speed than they
tend to ride" is common among horses that develop metabolic issues. We
don't know but it would sure be interesting to find out.
If you can't gallop for 15 miles and recover in 10 minutes then you
should not be galloping for 15 miles. If you wantto gallop 15 miles you
work up to it. If you can't trot for 15 miles
and recover in 10 minutes you should not be trotting for 15 miles.
Conversely if you trot for 15 miles and recover in 3 minutes, that
workout probably had little conditioning effect. Stress, rest and
recovery is
the method the body uses to condition. One of the most important tools
we have is the HRM. We know from human track if you want to do a
marathon you don't need to run a marathon distance every time out
training. In fact you don't need to run the distance at all in
training. To counter balance that you need to train harder (faster,
more fast up hill work, carry weight) for the distance you do train.
There is no free lunch. How many people use benchmarks or standard
exercise tests to monitor their training level and status of their
horse. I suspect not many.
I participated in organized sports of all types but track was the one I
participated for the longest -14 years. To compete at a high level
takes a dedication to work and an attention to detail. It not only
takes running, it takes lifting weights, other physical activities,
a.k.a. cross training. It takes flexibility training - when is the last
time most endurance horses have done dressage exercises? It takes time.
The person that wants to run a weekend marathon here and there can get
by with less training than the person that wants to be competitive in
the marathon. If the weekend marathoner trains less and tries to
compete beyond his level of training he will end up barfing his guts
out somewhere along the course - or much worse. The same is true for
our horses. Can you we expect a horse to do an 8 mph 50 at a ride when
you don't train at speeds at least 8 mph? Can we expect our horses to
gallop the first 15 mile loop at a ride when we never gallop 15 miles
in training? Could this be part of what we are seeing? Would
precautions
put in place like a two tier vet check be a benefit in catching the
horse that is going to fast for his level of conditioning before he has
gone too far to fast?
Truman
oddfarm wrote:
?
I am sure there is a tad more we
could do at the rides to prevent crash and burns. But I think more
importantly is how have we?PREPARED our horses before we arrive at the
rides and push?them to the limit? In training, you should be able to
judge what your horse is capable of doing. But if you only ride twice a
week, and your long ride is 15 miles, you can't expect your horse to go
out and compete in a fifty. You really have no idea of what your horse
is capable of doing, or not able to do.
?
It would be very interesting to see
training schedules of horses that have been treated and of those who do
so well to compare. Granted some horses may have had some hidden
problems but then you would think some of that would show up in a
serious training regiment. How many people train with on board
HRM?
?
You can pick up any training manual
for triathlons and marathons and see, it ain't that easy. Now, if you
just want to do it for the sheer pleasure, (what are you, crazy?) the
training doesn't have to be that serious. But, if you want to
compete,?or finish in a certain time, you really have to put the time
into the training. The right training schedule, should make the
competition seem fairly easy. You should be able to look at a race and
say, "That's nothing, I have been doing that, and then some for the
past two months!" There is also the "Some days you get the bear, and
some days the bear gets you" to take into consideration.
?
How many riders really put in the
time to train the way they want to compete? And even sometimes when we
do, it is so hard to set a goal, not meet that goal and then go back
and re-evaluate. To back off, or start over, especially if you only
have one horse, but many goals is a hard pill to swallow. Many riders
push on, (they'll do better next time) and so goes the horse.
