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> I'll give you an
>example
>of too much rest: In Thoroughbred racing, if the horse races 3/4 of a
>mile
>today, then he will do nothing but walk around the shedrow for the
>next three
>days. then a few days of galloping a total of 1 1/2 miles per day.
>Then,
>perhaps on the 6-7th day after the race, a little piece of speed--1/2
>mile at
>95% effort. Another couple days of just walking, another couple days
>of 1 1/2
>mile slow gallops and then another race at about 14 days. That's an
>example
>of a relatively hard working TB. Too much deadly rest.
>
I don't know any horse that could stay fit on this training schedule. These guys should be racing dressage horses. They'd have to be fitter,
they get lost more work;>)
>
>Do your horses ever get "washy". Nervous to the extent of shivering
>and
>sweating profusely before doing any work?
>
>
No, not to the extent of "washing out". She doe's get nervous the night
before we haul to a ride though. She know's if I'm out at the barn
packing and loading the trailer for an extended period of time, we'll be
hauling to a ride the next day. So, she'll just pick at her feed that
night. But, I fooled her Friday. We had crappy weather and didn't haul
out Saturday am. Then the ride was postponed to Sunday. So, Saturday was a normal day. And, since I was already packed, she didn't know not to
eat her grain and she chowed down really well. Then, we hauled out early Sunday am. Of course she didn't eat all her breakfast because I showed
up well before dawn. She's been in this profession since 1991, so she's
getting better at relaxing. I can even get her to walk around now,
instead of jig, before the start of a ride.
She usually eats fairly well once we are at the ride site. But during
the ride it helps to have a buddy to eat with, as with most horses.
Then she doesn't notice if horses are leaving the vet check ahead of
her. Her competitive nature cannot tolerate this.
I think the more longer rides we do, the less problem I'll have with
this.
>
>Here's the law: You feed the exercise. If you're doing nothing today
>or
>tomorrow, back off the feed. If you're going to beburning a lot of
>fuel, pump
>'im up. That's the law. That's the way it works.
>
I don't feed much anyway. This mare is a really easy keeper. On off
days I feed 1.5 # divided into 2 feedings. On hard days, I feed 3#
divided by 2. And during multi-day rides, sometimes I can get her to
eat about 6# divided by 4 or 5. She holds her weight. (She also has some pasture --in season). She didn't loose any weight during Sunday's 50
miler. (See Pawnee Grasslands post--response to Wendy) She's plump by
most endurance horse standards. (Of course I feed all those worthless
supplements, so she has really expensive urine;>)
> >>Some old campaigners don't ever get ridden between competitions.
>They
> may be ponied or just turned loose to follow along while their
> stablemates are trained. Often the objective is to accumulate miles
>so
> >>they are campaigned often, but they still win their share.
>
>Have to be careful there. Leaving it up to the horse doesn't mean
>he'll do
>the right thing. The fact that you can do nothing between competitions
>and
>still be competitive tells me that the competitions are nowhere near
>as
>tough, fitness wise, as they could be. As they will be when the first
>$100,000 Endurance Derby is in its 10th year. That will probably never
>happen, but when it does, you'll see a whole different animal coming
>across
>the finish line first.
>
I don't think that will necessarily happen with the truly "high-mileage"
horses. These are horses in the 5000 mile plus category that are still
out there putting on 1500+ miles per year. They may not win every day
of a 5-day but they might win the overall. Competition for the
multi-days is a totally different ballgame. One day 100's?---yeh,
maybe. I hope we NEVER see a big purse for a 50 miler those are demolition derbies. I've seen enough 50 milers get trashed for a $3000
sweepstakes award.
>
> >>Thanks for the answers, Tom. Your system is starting to make some
>sense
> >>to me. This may lead to more questions later.
>
> My pleasure. Good thinking. I'm learning more than you are.
>
>ti
Good. That's my intention;>)
Linda VanCeylon & crew
Buhni, Sunny, Rabbit, & Fiddler
lindavan.eqath@juno.com
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