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[RC] Arab Advantage - Bruce Weary DCI'm as guilty as anyone of looking at my personal circumstances, and then wishing the world would align itself to accomodate my shortfalls. I wish airline seats had more space for my long legs. I wish my home weren't so far away from so many rides. I wish my daughters would have had naturally straight teeth, so I wouldn't have to put braces on them. And, as a rider of a non-Arab horse, I wish she had the stamina and recoveries of an Arab. But, she doesn't. And I have to happily make adjustments that allow for that. I know that I really can't have it both ways--run with the big dogs, and expect to meet the recovery criteria as fast. I may have to ride slower, spend more time in the vet checks, and maybe spend an extra hour or two out on the trail to "level the playing field" regarding cooling, heart rate and general recovery. This sport is "open" to any breed of horse. Just as marathons are "open" to any level of runner, from expert to those who are disabled. What neither sport does, is "accomodate" any type of horse or runner. Once they hit the starting line, every participant has the limitation or advantage of his particular talents. The rider is expected to do the accomodating, in how he or she uses their horse. If I take 10 hours to do a ride, I can bring my horse in with the same or better recovery times as a fitter horse that did it in 8 hours. If I try to keep up with fitter or more genetically blessed horses and then recover similarly, I might feel pressed by the confines of recovery time limits. But it's not realistic of me to do so. A disadvantage in horse type or conditioning can't be ignored on ride day. It can lead to real trouble for the horse.I've missed a lot of awards dinners because I was out on the trail longer than most. I don't mind cold spaghetti, as long as my horse comes home looking and feeling good. Dr Q =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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