Re: Digestion of grain/carbos

[rides2far@juno.com (Angela C. McGhee)]

. I've helped design 
>workout
>gameplans for several winners.

Which ones?

 I find racing to be far more competitive, with far more 
>innovation
>taking place.
 To a lesser degree, eventing is also more competitive 
>and
>innovative.

So what are you doing hanging out around here?  What is it about this
merry go round ride that even mildly interests you?

I had to read these posts several times before I could be sure that you
meant what you said.  Honestly!  What publication written about endurance
even 5 years ago is up to date today?  Heck, the average EVEN-TOR that
I've had to deal with won't wipe their nose with kleenex because in
Europe they started out with hankies!

And at the track?  Oh the tradition.  I was disgusted when I heard that
Secretariat had dealt with several bouts of laminitis through the years. 
Every news clip I'd ever seen of him in his post racing years he was
overweight.  To think that they kept him that heavy when he'd had
problems with laminitis!  I commented on the fact to the wife of a vet
who'd spent years on the track and she said, "You wouldn't believe the
grain they pump into them...because "Daddy did it this way", they won't
listen to facts...just tradition".

You insinuate that we are not "driven"  that we don't want to go hard
enough or do what it takes to go faster.  The most DIFFICULT part of
competing in endurance is holding yourself back!  Most of us made major
mistakes going too hard on our early horses.  The successful riders are
the ones who learn when to hold back.  It's much easier in my opinion to
push, push, push and go for it...but that doesn't work very well in this
sport.  

When you're on the track and you start a horse at 22 mo., then work him
and he breaks down...what have you lost?  Maybe a couple of months work
and some cash.  The owner probably just hears about it over the phone and
makes a decision about its future.  Now, consider waiting until a horse
was at least 4, putting 2 years of long slow distance on him for a
foundation...yourself...every step of the way. Take that one out and
break his leg, or bow his tendon and the loss is measured in time and
emotion.  Some people have more money than others, and can afford to lose
some...but we all have to deal with the same number of hours in a day,
days in a year.

I've seen one horse die doing endurance in 10 years.  I "hung out" at the
track a little for 2 summers, and there were so many horses put down I
wouldn't begin to try to count them...of course all the crowd saw was a
hopping horse and a swift exit from the track ambulance.  A metabolic
breakdown isn't 1/2 that pretty.  I think our competitors are VERY WISE
to ride in a manner that avoids pushing the horses to the very limits of
their capabilities.

In the early years of NASCAR, the driver's strategy was to go wide open
and be leading the race until their engine blew, or someother race ending
catastrophe.  The carmakers liked to be in the lead, so they could claim,
"We had the fastest car...except we had this bad luck".  NASCAR came back
and made the points championship where drivers were rewarded, primarily
for finishing, then placement.  After that, drivers were more
conservative to see that they finished the race.  I would compare TB
racing with early NASCAR.  I don't know how many TB owners I've heard
say, "He won $40,000, then he broke down young...just think what he COULD
have done.  (That's a quote from ME, my old mare's sire Brunswick Brave).
 I believe our emphasis on accumulated miles and year end points are much
like the later years of NASCAR...seems to be working for them.    

Angie McGhee 

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