Reply from an educated derelict

[Sarah Ralston <ralston@AESOP.RUTGERS.EDU>]

I give up. All Heidi, Joe, I and others who have questioned some of ti's
hyperbolic pronouncements were trying to do was inject some balance
to the discussion. When pinned down ti actually, at least in his recent
discussions, is not too far off base. If not questioned he actually can be 
quite civil and rationale, as some of his recent posts have shown.
But when someone questions anything he says he tends to go off on wild
invective tangents like vehement arguments that horses can (and, by
implication, should) survive without forage. Yes, they can survive if the
ration is balanced for all other nutrients (which can be difficult), we
never said they could not. BUT there is an increased risk of problems with
such extremes that people need to be aware of.
The sport is growing (which is good)-there are a lot of newcomers who may
not have a lot of prior experience and who may take some of the wilder
pronouncements as gospel or the only solution. We have nothing to 
sell, nothing to gain personally from this discussion-just a deep love of
the sport and concern for the well being of the horses. 

 When ti first reappeared, I said in one of my first replies that
I could see how, especially in horses that were truly racing at speeds faster 
than a "normal" competitive pace, the carbo charge supplementation might help,
especially if they were geared already to a high carbohydrate ration. However,
even ti admits the use of the CC type products is not an exact science yet
and 
there is a risk of horses "bottoming out" (no, not imploding-just quitting)
if not monitored carefully.  Horses are remarkable in their ability to
adapt to wide deviations from what they were adapted over evolutionary time
to consume, which is one of the reasons the species has flourished under a
wide range of domestic situations. However, adaptations take time and every
time we "fool" with mother nature we add an element of risk. Risk, not
certain death. I felt people should be made aware of risks so they could
make an informed decision. All of us are risk takers. Any horse sport
involves an element of danger to both rider and animal. Some choose to
accept high risks to acheive a certain goal, others would like to minimize
risks to acheive a different goal. So be it-but you need to know the risks
if you are to avoid or face them! 

Horses have been competing successfully for years and continue to do so under
a wide range of management systems. There have been  many "improvements" which
seem to allow the horses to go faster for longer periods of time. This year's
Old Dominion 100 was won in under 14 hours and most of the top
ten came in in under 15 hours. I can remember the days when it was more
likely to take the front runners 15+ hours to complete. The "easier" rides
which are
becoming more and more popular-ie: flat, no real technical difficulty (such
as 
needed to negotiate Sherman's Gap even in daylight!), are even faster.
The horses are truly racing, which I have always admitted was ti's specialty. 
However, I wonder how many of the OD top ten (Stagg? Kevin? Steve? Patti?
Jeannie?) were using carbo-charge products? My point is only that you don't
HAVE to use carbo charge type products to top ten. On board heart rate
monitors, beet pulp, improved understanding of electrolyte supplementation,
conditioning and veterinary control have improved the sport. We are still
learning and improving. 
From the recent discussion I can see the day wherein horses with shaved
patches and multiple small scabs from pin pricks for their on board
glucometer/electrolyte analyzer will become the norm as are 
heart rate monitors now. I wonder if the comradery the sport is (was?)
famous for will extend to the people with glucometers doing tests 
for competitors who can't afford one, or if AERC sanctioning will hinge on
whether the ride management provides glucose/electrolyte analysis at all
vet checks? 

I was first drawn to this sport because, as I pereceived it in the mid-70's,
it was an "everyman's" sport. To compete successfully (ie: complete on a
sound,
healthy horse, regardless of placing) one did not need a lot of fancy
equipment, gadgets, high price horses or political pull. Very few people
were looking for the "magic bullet" that would give them an "edge" over the
other competitors-they were just concerned with their horse and their own
personnal performance or goals and more than willing to share their
experiences with others and help each other out. Good horsemanship, good
conditioning, 
attention to the basics of nutrition and care were all that was (and
hopefully still is) necessary for even the most unlikely types of horses
(the wonderful Winston in competitive rides and Smokey Killian's Bandit in
endurance come to mind immediately-there are many others) to compete and
compete 
successfully for many, many years. Think of the discussion of the horses with 
10,000+ career miles-they did this before many of the innovations. I will
be curious to see how many of the carbo charged racers acheive life time
mileage records of over 10,000 miles, but then, that is probably not their
rider's goal. As I said several times before I do not denigrate the
racers-they do add excitement and have their own agendas for their horses
and themselves. The truly knowledgeable ones like Valerie, Danielle, Joe,
Patti, Steve Rojek and Baker!), etc could teach us all something about
horsemanship if they cared to share. The few times one of these people have
contributed to the ti wars, however, if they did not agree 100% with him
they were slammed and put down as ignoramuses. This by someone, who two
years ago (according to my archived notes), was trying to convince us we
should feed our endurance horses 20 
lbs of grain a day (a practice even ti now admits is probably not
appropriate for this sport, now that he has gained some experience with
it). It would appear a growing segment of the ridecampers scorn those of us
who would place emphasis on basic nutritional principles, preferring to
follow ti's cutting edge (pun intended), push them to the limit, lead.

Fine. I am truly tired of being slammed and slandered for trying 
to add a balance to the so called "discussion". Especially when 
people like Roger, who I thought was a friend, slams those of us 
that don't agree 100% with ti and total strangers appear out of 
the blue to call me a derelict. I'd come to expect
invective from ti but it seems to be contagious. Since there is
no vaccine for it, the best way to avoid catching it is to avoid 
those who are infected. 

Heidi, you are thicker skinned than I am. 

Back to riding my own ride on my own horse and 
  not worrying about the rest of you.

See you on the trails.
Sarah and Fling 


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