Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Title: “I maintain there is much more wonder in science than in pseudoscience

Here is the temp distribution at house today (Brooksville, FL) as predicted by the National Weather Service. This is probably similar at the GERA ride - except it was a few degrees hotter. Numbers are temp deg F/dew point degs. 

5 AM - 74/72
8 AM - 74/72
11 AM - 86/72
2 PM  -  95/72
5 PM  -  93/72

The head vet addressed "going faster when it was cooler" and suggested while it sounded good it was not the best thing to do.  He's been around quite awhile and I expect he knows what he is talking about since he's been vetting rides for a long time.

The heat load is cumulative to some extent. It is very unlikely (unless you use ice at all the checks) that the core temp of horses at endurance rides in conditions such as above get back to what they were prior to starting the ride in a 30 or 40 minute hold. The latter part of a 50 is run in the hottest part of the day when the horse already has a heat load when he starts back out on the trial.

Truman

Bruce Weary wrote:

 Hi Ed--


  Assuming that most horses in endurance aren't doing negative splits (going faster in the last half of the ride than the first half) even when the weather is warm and humid,
they are probably going their fastest in the early or middle part of the ride. How is it  these horses are being cooled and recovering in 30 minutes at the vet checks, but it's
supposed to be demonstrably harder to cool them in 30 minutes at the finish line?  Even at the 60,70, or 80 mile points in a 100 miler, the horses must recover in 30 minutes, so it should
be able to be done at the end of a 50 miler, as well. If not, speed may be a factor.  Which ties it to pulse rates, thus the veterinary suggestion to standardize the
recovery times.

--

“I maintain there is much more wonder in science than in pseudoscience. And in addition, to whatever measure this term has any meaning, science has the additional virtue, and it is not an inconsiderable one, of being true.” Carl Sagan