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[RC] Myths - Bruce WearyHi Peter--I welcome the opportunity to respond to your thoughts on concerns about overriding, and perhaps clarify things a bit. You mention that there seems to be a lack of evidence for the "myths" you listed. I would have to agree, at least in how you worded them, and therein lies the rub. Let's look at each of them in turn: Myth 1) LD riders ride faster that endurance riders so we need more rules to slow them down. It is comparing apples to oranges to say that winning times for endurance rides are faster than LD winning times. Of course they are. Winning endurance horses are conditioned (or should be) to the point where they can sustain speeds of 10-12 mph, and do it safely (hopefully) for twice the distance. Although there are some horses that can maintain that speed in an LD, most can't, and that is partly responsible for their slower ride times. Those who aren't in hurry bring the ride times down, too. In fact, it could be argued that many racing LD horses, if asked to continue on for another 25 miles, might not be able to, or get in trouble trying. There has been some clinical evidence that a horse doesn't start really dipping into his reserves of energy, fluids and electrolytes until sometime after 25 miles. Beginners in an LD ride ought not be going even close to the speed of racing endurance horses. The safety margin lies in the discrepancy of conditioning between the two situations. This isn't revealed by simply comparing ride times. Myth 2) New riders are more likely to over ride their horse than an experienced rider. I'm not sure we have numbers on this one, but a couple of points come to mind. First, beginners are certainly generally prone to more mistakes than experienced riders, and as such deserve preventive education and a few safeguards to protect them and their horses until they get the hang of things. As for the more experienced riders you saw getting treatment, they were once beginners and may have benefited from an effective education as part of their foundation before they decided to try racing. Myth 3) Limited distance riders are more likely to over ride a horse. Beginner horses are usually, by definition, less conditioned, and potentially have less resilience to the effects of overriding. The beginner rider may be less aware of signs of lameness or impending metabolic crises, and less prepared to handle them as well. All horses at all distances deserve to be protected, and many LD horses, by virtue of the lack of experience in the rider, and the lack of conditioning in the horse, are at substantially higher risk. This statistical risk is reduced with increased experience and increased conditioning, at least theoretically. There is always someone out there willing to be the exception to the rule. "I can't remember the last time I saw an LD horse requiring treatment." Well, I can't remember the last time I saw a timber rattlesnake, but they're all over here in Arizona. Myth 4) "There has been much discussion and concern regarding the risk of cowboys and other new riders participating in the Great Santa Fe Trail Ride. The great fear was the ride would have a large number of new riders going out and recklessly riding. Let the record show that the two horse fatalities and the one horse requiring treatment were ridden by experienced AERC members. The newbies performed better than their more experienced counter parts." This is misleading at best. There was real and certified concern over newbie riders wanting to ride some 500 miles in a couple of weeks with virtually no experience in the rigors and dangers of endurance riding. The happy outcomes were an extension of AERC's concern and involvement (some say too much involvement) in seeing that the ride was sanctioned, vetted properly, and that each rider had gained some endurance experience beforehand. The GSFTR itself did not require prior experience, only as it's compliance with sanctioning standards. Laura Hayes, Roger Taylor, Laney Humphrey, Marilyn McCoy, and Carrie Miracle and others arrived at the eleventh hour and put their formidable experience and knowledge to work to assure a safe time for all. To imply that this event would have gone off just as safely without the help of these individuals and the very astute veterinarians is ludicrous, unless I misunderstand your rationale behind your comments regarding this point. The accident involving the horses impacting a car, is, in my view the responsibility of ride management, in that they should provide a safe finish line. Horses do race in this sport and a car is that last thing riders expect at or near a finish line. "The real risk in the sport is the over confident experienced rider who pushes too hard or uses poor judgment. These are the riders we need to be focusing our attention on if our goal is truly the welfare of the horse." I would agree entirely with the above statement with one simple modification. I would have it read like this: "The real risk in the sport is the over confident experienced OR CLUELESS INEXPERIENCED rider who pushes too hard or uses poor judgment. These are the riders we need to be focusing our attention on if our goal is truly the welfare of the horse." Bruce Weary =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 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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