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A study of energy consumption in horses travelling at various gaits found a striking pattern. At each gait, there was one narrow range of speed where energy consumption was lowest. These optimum speeds were almost precisely the same as the speed the horse would naturally choose at each gait.
When they were asked to move at unusually slow pace, the energy they spent to move a given distance shot up.
It was also discovered that the total energy expended in travelling a kilometer at a walk, trot, or canter was exactly the same, so long as the horses were allowed to move at the optimal speed for each gait.
Basically, a medium trot is more energy efficient than a fast walk, and a medium canter is more energy efficient than a fast trot.
~ The Nature Of Horses
If a horse is stepping up two furlongs in trip – even if travelling at a slightly slower speed within the same gait (as you would expect) than previously experienced – it will still consume the same amount of energy over a given distance.
Therefore, speed may vary, but one thing you can not change is a horses genetics. Lethal Force (OR 121) could gallop at any speed over twelve furlongs, but if he is asked to compete against Greatwood (OR 104) over that particular distance then he would be emphatically beaten.
Are you really saying Bos, that a horse will expend the same amount of energy when walking 1m4f as he would if galloping the same distance?
So if I was riding a horse from Salisbury to Winchester, my horse would be just as knackered at the end of it if he walks the route – as he would if I galloped him all the way there?
I wonder whether you’ve taken this piece and adapted it to something it was not meant for Bos. In racing the horse does not "choose" the speed he gallops at, the rider does. So it is never going at "optimum speed" when galloping. Once coming out of the "optimal" speed, the equal energy scenario (as far as I can see) does not come in to it.
Anyway, with how I look at each race Bos, I pay particular attension to whether each horse will stay the trip and whether pace of a race is likely to suit. And time and time again the pace makes a big difference to whether a horse stays the trip. So forgive me, I do not care what "The Nature Of Horses" says, I will have to disagree.
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Ehhhhmmm…..Stilvi, does this have some hidden connection with the Arc, or is it just that you have shares in Gordons
Why was it a "slowly run" Arc?
Because Richard Hughes was making the pace…….
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Are you really saying Bos, that a horse will expend the same amount of energy when walking 1m4f as he would if galloping the same distance?
So if I was riding a horse from Salisbury to Winchester, my horse would be just as knackered at the end of it if he walks the route – as he would if I galloped him all the way there?
I wonder whether you’ve taken this piece and adapted it to something it was not meant for Bos. In racing the horse does not "choose" the speed he gallops at, the rider does. So it is never going at "optimum speed" when galloping. Once coming out of the "optimal" speed, the equal energy scenario (as far as I can see) does not come in to it.
Anyway, with how I look at each race Bos, I pay particular attension to whether each horse will stay the trip and whether pace of a race is likely to suit. And time and time again the pace makes a big difference to whether a horse stays the trip. So forgive me, I do not care what "The Nature Of Horses" says, I will have to disagree.
The information I have submitted is there for all to see in Chapter 8 – The Mechanics Of Movement. The book is well researched, logical and interesting.
A horse in motion is literally a combination of pendulums and springs. When you understand the mechanics of a horse, it all makes sense.
I highly recommend the book.
A study of energy consumption in horses travelling at various gaits found a striking pattern. At each gait, there was one narrow range of speed where energy consumption was lowest. These optimum speeds were almost precisely the same as the speed the horse would naturally choose at each gait.
When they were asked to move at unusually slow pace, the energy they spent to move a given distance shot up.
It was also discovered that the total energy expended in travelling a kilometer at a walk, trot, or canter was exactly the same, so long as the horses were allowed to move at the optimal speed for each gait.
Basically, a medium trot is more energy efficient than a fast walk, and a medium canter is more energy efficient than a fast trot.
~ The Nature Of Horses
If a horse is stepping up two furlongs in trip – even if travelling at a slightly slower speed within the same gait (as you would expect) than previously experienced – it will still consume the same amount of energy over a given distance.
Therefore, speed may vary, but one thing you can not change is a horses genetics. Lethal Force (OR 121) could gallop at any speed over twelve furlongs, but if he is asked to compete against Greatwood (OR 104) over that particular distance then he would be emphatically beaten.
Are you really saying Bos, that a horse will expend the same amount of energy when walking 1m4f as he would if galloping the same distance?
I got the impression what Bos was saying that if you allowed your horse to canter at a medium pace for twelve furlong, you could use less energy overall than if you cantered at a much slower pace over the same distance. (??)
Entirely believable actually but not sure how it relates to racing speed.Also there is probably more to racing than just energy production as such. ie lactic acid clearance.
" Lethal Force (OR 121) could gallop at any speed over twelve furlongs, but if he is asked to compete against Greatwood (OR 104) over that particular distance then he would be emphatically beaten"
Probably true to a point. If both horses have done the first 8 furlongs at such a gait/pace that both have plenty energy left, I dont think the theory could hold.
SHL
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