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RE: [RC] Percentage body weight (was: Dainty horses) - heidi
Actually, Ed, it fits with what many of us have seen for years vetting
rides as well, so I don't think it is an accidental correlation. Although it would require more study to know for sure, I suspect that given the fact that it is lameness pulls that increase when the combined weight goes over 1200 lbs., it is probably due to the fact that the tissues involved simply are not "made" to do repetitive concussive work with that kind of a load--and that it is immaterial whether the load comes from the horse's own weight or from something that he is carrying.
Additionally, like any other statistical risk, simply being over that
weight does not mean that the horse WILL break down--it simply means that he is at higher risk for doing so than is a horse with less than 1200 lbs. in weight (be it his own or the rider's). Think of it as something like tensile strength in a wire--a given material only has so much, and failures will begin to occur when you exceed the limits of the materials.
Hope that makes sense.
Heidi
This type of statistical result, that is one that does not make sense intuitively, raises caution flags to me. It causes me to wonder if it is a correlation of an accidental nature and not a cause and effect. I can see how heavier horses possibly could be at a disadvantage, but I don't see why the carrying of a lower percentage of body weight than a lighter horse would put them into a further disadvantage.
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