Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

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

There is a simple experiment you can run. Take several thermometers, place one in the shade (to determine the air temp) and place the others in the sun wrapped in fabric of the color of interest. Maybe one in white, one in black, one in brown,? etc. Leave them along for awhile. What you will find is the one in white will be about the same - but just a little higher than the one in the shade. The others will be significant higher. The difference is the radiant heat absorption of the different colors.
Here is a good explanation

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/phy00/phy00156.htm
http://www.colormatters.com/colorheat.html

How they dissipate heat from sweating or respiration is independent of color. The darker horse will, however, have a higher heat load to dissipate. On a dry night when all other things are equal a darker horse will radiate a little more energy that a white horse - black body radiation. However, that is very small not a source of cooling when you consider the amount of heat generated.? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_body

Truman

Ruth Maher wrote:

I know there are people out there doing endurance on black horses. So, does a black horse really absorb significantly more heat than, say, a bay or brown horse? And does that bay horse absorb significantly more than a sorrel?

I'm not talking about small differences, but statistically significant ones. I can see how a white horse would have an advantage over a dark one, but would there be that big of a difference between two different shades of dark?

Or, coming at it another way, is there a reason why a dark horse wouldn't be able to dissipate heat as well as a light one through processes like sweating and respiration?

You know what would be an amazing (and exhausting) research project? Someone should statistically analyze finishers at the various distances and climates to see if there are trends regarding color.

Anyway, I'm interested in everyone's thoughts and opinions. :)

Ruth
(Who rides a buckskin and feels left out of the Gray Arabian Club)

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“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