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Re: FW: Re: [RC] [RC] What is LSD to you and other conditioning trivia - Joe LongOn Fri, 24 Feb 2006 20:24:03 -0600, "Ginny Holsman" <ginny744@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: IMO, a horse should never be raced that is not conditioned for twice the distance that they are going to be raced. That is, a horse should be conditioned to ride 50 miles in order to race 25 miles. However, I must explain the difference IMO between riding and racing. Conditioning occurs at a riding pace; not a racing pace. The idea is to enjoy the ride while conditioning. Racing is trying to cover the distance as quickly as possible. That's quite a bit more strenuous. I'm afraid I don't agree with this. A fundmental principle of conditioning for competition, is that you don't ask the horse to do in competition anything he has not been conditioned to do in training. Among other things, that means that I will ride some of my conditioning rides at the same or even greater speeds than I will be racing at. Once my horse is race-fit, I will be doing a significant amount of conditioning at a movin'-on canter, some at a hand gallop. I will do only a very little flat-out sprinting, though. I don't do that much in a race, it doesn't need much at home. At these speeds, 1/3 to 1/2 the ride distance is sufficient. You get most of the training benefit in the first hour, the time on a given day spent over that amount isn't adding much. <more comments below> So, if you condition your horse by riding for 50 mile rides, then they can handle a 25 mile race well; but if you condition your horse by riding for 25 mile rides, then they can only handle 10-15 miles at race pace well. This is because the very nature of racing pushes a horse beyond their comfortable abilities, not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally, causing tremendous extra distress that is not occurring at a riding pace. The reason this happens is that horses are empathic. If the rider wants to win; the horse wants to win too. If the rider is just enjoying themselves, then the horse is too. I enjoy myself the most when I'm racing. : ) If you condition at racing pace, then you aren't "pushing them beyond" what they've been prepared for on race day. Another aspect about racing that differs from riding is that during a race, the rider is also under distress, and hence less in touch with how their horse feels when riding. For example, if, when conditioning, your horse is not moving well, the tendancy is to slow down, try to figure out what is wrong, resolve the problem; but when racing, if your horse is not moving well, the tendancy is to push on, finish the race, as best as possible - consider consequences later. Absolutely NOT!!! If my horse is not "right" during a race, I slow down or pull. I've pulled more than once when the vets said my horse was fine, and could go on. And how will I know if he's not "right" if I've not conditioned at those speeds? This combination of pre-occupation with winning by the riding under distress and a horse under pressure to win in order to please their rider can have harmful consequences unless a horse is conditioned to be able to handle far more, at a riding pace, than at a race pace, when they are under more stress. A horse will definitely perform better if conditioned beyond the race length. The conditioning theory that I've read, what I've seen at rides, and my own experience racing many rides says otherwise. Not only have I never conditioned at more than about 1/2 the upcoming ride distance, it is usually no more than 1/3. When I conditioned myself to run a Marathon -- 26 miles -- I never ran farther than 10 miles on any one day prior to the Marathon. I've believed for a long time that many riders overcondition their horses. Your prescription is, in my opinion, a recipe for doing that. -- Joe Long jlong@xxxxxxxx http://www.rnbw.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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