RE: [RC] Some Thoughts on Pacing (Part 2) - Mike Sofen
This was a wonderful, detailed, and honest
description of both training modalities and competition realities, thanks a lot
Jim.
I’m especially struck by the
reference to sand, since a) we have very little here in California and b) I
know from walking/running on beaches how truly hard it is to move in. I
can imagine that unless one trained very carefully and diligently in sand, it
could prove to be a decisive factor in the horse’s condition during a
ride.
I totally agree on the term
“intensity”. Once a horse has a full conditioning base (soft
tissue, bone, and aerobic capacity are all maximized – about 1.5-2 years
of training), then more easy miles – other than for mental health –
doesn’t add anything to the horse, since they retain it so well.
Instead, as Jim has described, the intensity of the workout becomes the key
thing.
Intensity can come from a) interval
training (a recent thread), b) sand training c) hill training d) speed work
(gallops). Since speed work has numerous risks including physical
breakdown, bad footing, trail surprises (mountain bikes, mountain lions, etc),
it’s not a great method except for track racers. Plus speedwork
builds the wrong type of muscle fiber (fast twitch), which have limited value
in endurance.
Of the above, b and c would form the
foundation of a training protocol that would move a horse from good to being
great, assuming the horse had it them mentally/physically and the rider wanted
to go there. Hill work is especially usable since the hills are
predictable, allowing the rider to tailor the workout to the horse by varying
the speed of the workout versus the steepness of the hill. Hills build
strength, power and stamina that cannot be built, as far as I’m aware, on
the flat.
The net result is way less training miles
(and wear and tear) needed to reach various conditioning levels, leaving way
more miles in the tank for actual competitions and for just plain fun
riding. Elite marathoners know this protocol very well.
In all cases, in my opinion, it is foolish
to attempt to increase the workout intensity of a horse without a heart rate
monitor being used every time the horse is ridden. The notion that
“I know my horse so I don’t need a heart rate monitor” only
works for casual, slow riding.