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What was the age of the horse that set the record? I would think that
you'd have kept up with what age horse you were dealing with when
predicting the stress the legs could handle. There is serious debate on
the International scene along these lines. Do you believe in going with
the younger horses and hoping for one big win in the career? By sending
our "proven" best, do you think that's sending horses that have already
given their "one big race"?

Do you think that it's possible to train a stable of one with the same
techniques you train a stable of 120? For instance, you asked if we know
the maximum speed our horse can safely travel 30 miles. How do you know a
speed is the "maximum" without going over it and backing up (if he's
still around).

Angie>

Good questions. I'll start with the last one and move backwards.

In Abu Dhabi they had several high speed (Mustang) treadmills that we could use 
for periodic exercise testing without risk to the horse. Even then, though, we 
never worked a horse at max, even on the incline.

As explained in another post, you can get a good estimate of VO2 Max via 
Efficiency Score, which, in turn, is a measure of relative fitness. The 
advantage of 120 horses in training is that you can develop a solid database of 
"normals" for many different circumstances quickly. The constant fight I had in 
Abu Dhabi was to actually use all this equipment for applied research and 
establishing those normals--science was just as alien a concept to them as it 
is in US endurance--despite all the equipment.

I believe the horse that won the President's Cup was 8, but may be mistaken. It 
was a French-trained horse before it came to us and was extremly well 
conditioned, with a protocol that included more than 100 miles a week of a 
variety of exercises, including flat speed, LSD, and hill repetitions. The 
horse had an ES unmatched by any of the others.

In general, any horse, no matter what age, can safely do what it has been 
properly conditioned to do. Younger horses are more "plastic" than older 
horses, so with the young horse you have the opportunity to reshape the 
physiology significantly to better fit the sport. Of course, at some point, 
older horses no longer respond to conditioning and connot maintain competitive 
fitness.

What is "proper conditioning" as referred to above? this Monday, the horse can 
easily and safely do just a little more work than it did last Monday--maybe an 
extra half mile of LSD, maybe an extra rep up a hill. That is, if the 
supportive nutrition is there and you're getting an adequate 
work/recovery/rebound cycle. If you're not, then you sit there until you do--or 
sell the horse as a non-athlete.

In a group of 20 horse bred for athletic competition, there may be one with the 
genes to be something special. there will be another five that can become very 
competitive. Another 5 that are forever mid-pack runners, and the rest need to 
find another home. Sorting out which is which is the first step to operating a 
successful stable, be it flat racing or endurance.

Efficiency Scores, over time, yield Rate of Acquisition numbers. How quickly 
does this horse respond to a body of exercise compared to that horse over 
there, or all the other horses in the database. Rate of Acquisition can be 
determined in the individual as eealy as a yearling, on a high speed treadmill, 
and certainly early on in the normal conditioning process. Before you invest 
time, money and hard effort, you should know what kind of athlete you're 
dealing with--that is, if you're serious about competition. If not, none of the 
above matters at all and it's more a matter of what kind of sandwhiches to pack 
for lunch out on the trail.

In flat racing, it has been demonstrated scientifically that horses which are 
conditioned and raced early last longer in competition than those started 
later. Of course, there are other factors at play--maybe the ones starting 
later were stone cripples early on, etc. However, those are the statistics--a 
horse that races 6 times as a 2yo will race more often, for more years, than 
one that raced once as a 2yo.

Endurance is a comparitively low-impact equine sport. Speed kills; slogging 
long distance doesn't, for the most part. However, any time you violate the law 
of progressive loading you risk injury in ANY equine athlete. this would be the 
case if you took a 2yo, or a 6 yo, or a 12 yo out of the pasture and attempted 
to competitively ride him in a 25 or 50. No matter what his age, you're asking 
for trouble. Similarly, of the horse lives and exercises on a nice flat 
pristine surface, but is then competed over rough terrain--you're begging for 
injury.

So, regardless of age, you have to follow the rules. And if you follow the 
rules, you won't hurt your horse. The problem is, the rules are complex and 
require full attention to even get more than 50% of them right at any point in 
time. Besides the big principles, progressive loading, supportive nutrition and 
specificity of exercise, there are hundreds of little rules that, if disobeyed, 
can cripple or kill your athlete in a split second. Once such: never make more 
than a 2 degree change in hoof angle in a single shoeing.

The joke there is that most don't know what their horse's hoof angles are. And 
if that represents the state of the awareness of the typical endurance rider, 
then concerns about age vs injury are completely irrelevant. The fact that 
people are stupid enough to stick an unprepared horse in a very competitive 100 
and go for a win--makes age irrelevant. The fact that cripples are shipped tens 
of thousands of miles in order to compete at the very top levels--due to 
politics--makes age totally irrelevant. So, the very first rule for a 
competitive stable is "eliminate human stupidity from the horse's environment." 
Then you can eliminate the alfalfa dust. Then you can eliminate boards with 
nails in them. Then you can eliminate colic-causing feedstuffs and feeding 
practices. Then you can eliminate the 1001 other environmental factors that can 
defeat you and your goals. Get the stupid people gone--first priority in any 
stable. In any team.

There is no genuine "economics" in endurance racing, save for selling to the 
sheikhs. To do that, win impressively and early. Take the money, buy a new rig, 
and build some more disposable, but very competitive, athletes. Building a 
long-lasting champion is a whole 'nother proposition--that's obvious on the 
face of it. No need for ANY discussion there. The only decision is which way to 
go, and that can be made early on, once you know the rates of acquisition (and 
no signs of exercise intolerance of any kind) of the racing prospects under 
your control.

I've worked toward either goal, but prefer the long-term champion approach when 
the opportunity arises--it seldom does, either because the very first rule of 
stable management has been violated, or because a serious competitor is 
operating on a shoestring budget.

Again, age is irrelevant to the entire discussion above. Crash preps kill, 
violating the progressive loading law of conditioning. Very simple concept to 
understand. Waiting four years, then attempting a crash prep, violates the 
first stable rule (eliminate the morons)and, again, the law of progressive 
loading.

Summary: play by the rules or get out.

ti


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