I saw that about 50% of the horses who started the Tevis Cup did not complete it. The vast majority for being lame or “metabolic.”
Is that normal for a 100 mile race?
How lame is lame enough to be pulled?
Similarly, what constitutes “metabolic” issues so bad you’re not allowed to go on?
I think it depends on where the race is held. I read an interview with a previous Tevis winner (I think he won last night, too, actually–the Easyboot guy) and he said in Europe 95% of the racers finish. America’s endurence, he said, isn’t developed to the same caliber yet, but it’s on its way.
Yeah I looked up Tevis stats just now and the organizers say “From 1955 through 2011, there have been 9,278 starting entries, of which 5,066 (54.6%) finished.”
That’s a really low figure, seems like! 46% of horses injured etc per competition?
46% didn’t finish. That doesn’t mean they were injured.
Metabolic has to do with the return of the heart rate to a set percentage of the resting heart rate in a specific time. I believe they also take the temperature. So a horse may not reach the parameters in the alloted time and be DQ’d.
I’m not sure what the overall average finish rate is for 100 milers but it’s probably not more than about 60% or so and may be less. With Tevis, there are a number of factors that play into the 50% +/- finish rate. Terrain is one. The high country is pretty tough and then there’s a lot of downhill pounding. Another factor is that this ride tends to be a bucket list ride for many. For some, it may be the only 100 miler they ever ride. While I can’t imagine doing Tevis as a first 100, many have done so and completed. Lack of experience can certainly lessen the success rate. I heard at one time many years ago, it was the thing to do and people would enter and ride as far as Robinson Flat and then pull. They got the cool Cougar Rock photograph to show to friends and that was enough. Now the rider has to meet a minimum mileage qualification to enter.
As a comparison, at a flat FL ride last Dec, 21 started the 100. 11 finished. 100s are tough.
Debbie
[QUOTE=Xanthoria;6479704]
I saw that about 50% of the horses who started the Tevis Cup did not complete it. The vast majority for being lame or “metabolic.”
Is that normal for a 100 mile race?
How lame is lame enough to be pulled?
Similarly, what constitutes “metabolic” issues so bad you’re not allowed to go on?[/QUOTE]
There is no “normal” for a 100 mile ride. The number of pulls tends to be based upon the difficulty of the trail, the weather, and surface factors (rocks, deep sand, etc). Because each ride takes place in radically different areas throughout the country, what you’d want to do is compare past ride pulls for that ride alone. You can do that by looking up the ride records on the AERC website.
A pull doesn’t denote injury. A pull can be the rider’s choice if they don’t want to continue for any reason, or it can be because the horse hasn’t reached the stated parameters (pulse or low gut sounds or signs of impending exhaustion) within the allowed time, or the horse is a Grade 3 lameness (consistant and clearly visible at the trot). Low gut sounds or dehydration or tiredness usually are cleared up by food and water and rest during the manditory holds. Vets who have concerns that a horse is NQR (not quite right) may hold the rider’s card for a recheck of the parameters just before the rider’s Out time. If the horse passes, the rider can continue on trail. If not, the horse is pulled from competition and is trailered back to the main camp. The rider may not ride back on the pulled horse.
Equine temperatures are not taken as part of the vetting procedure in Endurance.
Ride and tie rules are not the same as Endurance in regards to the equines. Don’t compare the two.
When I tried tevis my horse came up a little lame at Red Star. The ground was really hard and uneven leading up to it ~I thought he wasn’t quite right and by the time we trotted for the vet he was noticeably off. I never could figure out what happened and he was fine within a few weeks, completed another endurance a few months later. 100s do tend to have low completion rates especially mountain rides like tevis but I would say that most are no big deal.
I doubt I could trot down that mountain and finish sound.
I don’t ride endurance, so I’m just asking a random question, but are the Europe rides over the same terrain as Tevis? I think I remember reading a few years ago how most European races are flat, or over low hills, not the mountains more common in American races.
[QUOTE=QacarXan;6479727]
I think it depends on where the race is held. I read an interview with a previous Tevis winner (I think he won last night, too, actually–the Easyboot guy) and he said in Europe 95% of the racers finish. America’s endurence, he said, isn’t developed to the same caliber yet, but it’s on its way.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Malda;6480983]
I don’t ride endurance, so I’m just asking a random question, but are the Europe rides over the same terrain as Tevis? I think I remember reading a few years ago how most European races are flat, or over low hills, not the mountains more common in American races.[/QUOTE]
I think that we do have the most mountainous rides here in the US. I would be surprised if any 100s have that high of completion rates though. If the rides are flat and “easy” then people go faster which can increase the likelihood of pulls, especially metabolic. There are just so many things that can happen on a 100.
Also, I believe Tevis has cut off times at the different vet checks (I think OD has them too, but not all 100s have cut off times). If you don’t make it into the check by the cut off time, even if your horse is 100 percent sound, your day ends there. That can be an issue with a trail like Tevis where getting stuck behind someone who is having issues or just not moving out can really slow you down, as there some places where it is very difficult or outright dangerous to try and pass.
I’m not into endurance and don’t know that much about the whole barefoot booted movement- but yesterday when I learned that the owner of the easyboot company (and his wife) finished 1 and 2 at Tevis- I really sat up and took note. I read a lot on the easycare website and saw a lot of stuff that impressed me. One is that they were there days ahead gluing on gloves for competitiors- great way to make sure that nothing gets in the way of someone using your product who wants to. Another thing I saw was that they will pay your entry if you use their product and finish (to qualify you must finish two 50 milers before Tevis in their product) WOW- that also some really smart advertising right there. The last thing was that they threw around the statistic that the overall finish rate since the race started is about 50% but the finish rate for riders/horses using their product is 75%!! WoW! the only thing my critical mind would want to know is how the rates compare over the same years… like tell me what the finish rate is in iron shoes since 2006… because maybe there has there been a general learning curve in many aspects of conditioning that has changed the picture that it’s not fair to lump the ooooold statistics together with the new ones. Either way- it was very interesting reading and I’m relly impressed with their company putting it out there- even if I don’t know their product.
KarenC is exactly right in that Tevis does have cut-off times. I had a friend who unfortunately came up against one this year, too bad, but it is all for the safety of horse and rider. The ride transverses some tough trail, made even harder in the dark. You also have to cross the river in the dark, no thanks!
And as for the booted horses, actually the top 4 horses were booted, all riders from EasyCare in Durango. I think they must know tough terrain! I also saw plenty of steel shoes, shoes with pads, plastic shoes, different boots. And my rider finished with 3 steel shoes and an easy boot! It is hard to compare boots and shoes from years ago, as there weren’t good booting options. And now there are many different kinds of steel shoes too. But it is all interesting.
Also interesting and fun to watch was all the different saddles, pads, bridles, bits, clothing, and all the stuff tied onto the saddles. Some people rode with just a waterbottle strapped to their waist. Others with everything but the kitchen sink on their saddle. Some switched saddles as they entered the canyons, to drop weight.
They were also doing a medical study and taking blood of every horse at Robinson Flat (36 miles in). To compare later with horses who may be pulled, need medical attention, etc.
A fascinating race to be at. Still don’t want to ride it, but glad to help!
I did a quick tally and the number of competitors who didn’t complete the rides and the reasons why appear to be (excuse me if off by one or two) as follows:
Lame 42
Metabolic 30
Rider option 11
Over time 10
Not reported 10
Surface factors 2
Other 1
So apparently at least 42 horses went grade 3 or above lame during the ride and were prevented from continuing by the vets. Possibly more, as the rider option and not reported could mean lameness. Out of 205 horses 42 = a bit over 20% or one fifth of the horses.
If one fifth of the horses in any other sport went lame on course it’d be shocking. Is it that being sore is considered almost normal in a long distance event, the way marathoners run through the pain?
A rider isn’t allowed to claim a rider option if the horse is lame or has issues that would denote a pull.
Prior to a horse being pulled for any reason, the horse MUST be seen by a vet, and the reason for the pull will be recorded by the vet. If the horse is metabolic or lame, or becoming muscle or foot sore from the surface factors to the point where the vets feel the horse would be further compromised by going back out on trail, then that is the pull reason recorded. A rider can only take Rider Option if the horse is still “fit to continue” by the vets, but the rider no longer wishes to continue on trail for whatever reason.
Not reported only means those rider cards weren’t available at the time that pull list was complied.
No other equine sport, except foxhunting, takes place on an ungroomed natural terrain, and NONE except Endurance extends the horse/rider team to continue for 50 to 100 miles. Thus trying to force a comparison with “ring bound” sports (and that includes eventing with their now woefully short, highly groomed cross country courses) is rediculous in terms of lameness and pulls.
A rider can be as sore as they want - there are no outside pulls for rider issues. A horse may NOT be sore during the ride, so no…it is not “normal” for a sore horse to be competing. The horse must be Fit To Continue in every parameter …even after the finish at the final vetting …in order to have received a completion.
Being sore? Probably. I worked with an ultramarathoner who’s hobbled his way through the Badwater 135, Death Valley to Mt Whitney every year since the late '90’s. Believe me, he suffers.
I haven’t ridden Tevis and doubt I ever will but I spent some time in the El Dorado nat’l Forest beween ForestHill and Hell Hole, and the pony I leased was 100 miles south at 3600’ elevation. I really wish I had my pictures still to show you the granite faces we trail rode across, very stony uneven terrain, even as a human hiking a twisted ankle was a very real possiblity.
It bothers me a little, OP, that you seem to be looking for statistics that make this “excessively cruel”. I’d rather not dredge up statistics on other disciplines to “prove” that any equestrian sport has an element of risk to the athlete - the horse, as well as to the rider.
If ultra-marathoners had to pass a physical every 20 miles or so, I bet you would see their completion percentages drop rapidly. At the Vermont 100 this year, the 100-mile horses looked much better than many of the 100-mile runners the next morning…
Humans running in endurance competitions take responsibility for themselves when pushing beyond their physical limits, but as riders, we are responsible for the welfare of our equine athletes. Many endurance horses love the sport so much that they want to keep going when they shouldn’t, so it’s on us as the riders to see to their welfare, and the vets are there to assist us in making those judgment calls. Tevis is an incredibly difficult ride over challenging terrain, and it asks a lot of the horses and riders. If it was easier, it wouldn’t be the ride on everyone’s bucket list!
Hm, those are your words in quotes, not mine.
I was just surprised to learn all this stuff. I know someone who completed Tevis this year with a horse in no doubt fine shape knowing how well he cares for her. It doesn’t feel good though to hear that 20% of the horses ended up lame.
I also don’t think its unfair to compare this to other horse sports - why should it be OK for one sport to have a high injury rate, just because it doesn’t take place in an arena? And racing disproves that anyway - high injury rate, well groomed tracks. Still saddening.
Anyway, I just wanted to find out if this was a normal rate of completions for that race, and looking back on past Tevis results I see that it is.
There is a big difference for a lameness pull and a horse “ending up lame”, which seems to imply negligence or at least a major injury. The majority of the horses pulled for either lameness or metabolic reasons will never need any kind of treatment, because it was minor and caught early. When you cover that many miles, the opportunity for the horsey equivalent of a stubbed toe gets greater and greater…
I cannot tell you how many times I have seen a horse off - so, yes, technically lame at the time of a vet in, and 30-60 minutes later trot off 100 percent sound. Even more so the number of times the horse is 100 percent sound the next day. The whole goal of the vetting process is to catch something before it becomes a big issue.
I am not trying to minimize the fact that issues do happen. That is WHY we have vet checks. But I think to outsiders, the issues can seem much larger when they don’t understand the whole process completely and haven’t witnessed it first hand.
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