Re: Digestion of grain/carbos

[Tivers@aol.com]

In a message dated 98-06-24 14:38:39 EDT, CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com writes:

<< Funny, but that's why I got out of racetrack work (VERY early in my career)
 and stuck by endurance--got tired of the racetrack attitude of "if it was
good
 enough for granddaddy, it's good enough for me."  I find the work on VFA's
and
 hindgut research to be refreshing and new, and have found endurance riders as
 a whole to be some of the most forward-looking poeple I have ever met.  Some
 of the big mistakes we made 25 years ago in this sport came from trying to
 treat our horses like sprint horses or like people, and the knowledge we have
 gained since as to how they are different has helped us tremendously.  I can
 remember an article that appeared in an endurance publication several years
 ago entitled, "Can 100-Mile Horses Still Win?"  We now have horses still
 winning with 8000 and 9000 miles behind them, after 15 years of competition.
 When the racing industry starts to improve its care and conditioning to
 produce and race more horses like John Henry who can compete, stay healthy,
 and not break down, perhaps they will begin to catch up with us.
 
 Heidi >>

So, you're saying a major drop in carbohydrate feeding has resulted in ten
times the longevity? 

The racing industry has horrific problems, in both feeding and drugs--and
conditioning. The "pack" mentality, though, is common to both endurance and
racing. Do what the other guy is doing and keep your ideas to yourself. 

On the other hand, most racetrack trainers have the mental capacity to run a
taxi cab or ferris wheel if they were't training horses while there seems to
be some intellect among endurance folk. But intellect doesn't mean innovation.
Innovation occurs when there is a need.

ti