Re: UMECRA/IAHA rides

["(Joyce DeVries)" <jdevr@mail.dave-world.net>]

> <Our complaint has always been the '44 bpm = 0 points criteria.  Most of
> the IAHA CTR's (at least in the Midwest) are not properly designed so as
> to stress the horses enough to show who is actually the best horse.>
> 
> The rides I have attended in the Midwest have 36 bpm = 0 points
> criteria.
> 
> Kelli


Kelli,

Yes, the UMECRA criteria is 36 bpm = 0 points.  But IAHA rides have 44 bpm
= 0 points.  My complaint was that the IAHA rides in the midwest are not
usually stressful enough to seperate the horses, (most all of the horses
achieve the 44 bpm at the vet checks).  If they are going to have 44 bpm as
the base of their criteria, they should stress to ride managers to make the
rides tougher.

Some of the rides are so easy that they are not stressing the horses (and I
am NOT saying that we have to have rides so tough that we are running the
horses into the ground or tearing them up on the rough terrain!).  But on a
lot of these rides I could pull an unconditioned horse out of the pasture
and go win a ride!  And I know of people who do this.  This is not a
picture that we want to paint for new people.  The course should be tough
enough (or fast enough) to stress the underconditioned horses, thereby
showing their riders/owners the meaning of proper conditioning.  

I have had horses in the past who were in top condition and were getting
40-44 bpm consistantly.  They just had a higher heartrate.  (This 40-44 bpm
was after 3 yrs of conditioning I might add, we started out with 48bpm). 
So perhaps lowering the heartrate perimaters is not the answer, but
requiring tougher/faster courses is.  

BTW thanks for all the great post concerning this subject.......sounds like
rides in other Regions DO have tougher terrain to help alleviate the
'perfect' scores.

jd