Synthetic report released :)

[curious]

1 minute ago, Special Agent said:

Do you think the questions and problems have been addressed?

No. That will be up to NZTR and the respective clubs.

Edited 19 hours ago by curious

[Special Agent]

On 6/5/2025 at 6:30 AM, curious said:

Anecdotal data indicates that 2 -3 runs on the synthetic surface are sufficient for the horse to acclimatise (adapt their gait) to the surface.

Because horses naturally run faster on the synthetic surface with longer strides (~20cm longer), it is anecdotally reported that acclimatisation runs should be conducted with the horses “on the bridle”.
This would provide sufficient load cycles to train the limb without exposure to peak forces

Reads to me like 2-3 runs under a hold on the surface is enough to fit a horse's anatomy for racing on the surface.  Are we to read a report as is, or are we supposed to read some other unknowns into the equation?

[curious]

21 minutes ago, Special Agent said:

Reads to me like 2-3 runs under a hold on the surface is enough to fit a horse's anatomy for racing on the surface.  Are we to read a report as is, or are we supposed to read some other unknowns into the equation?

A bit more than the canter around that you suggested though. That is proposed, but it is noted that it is anecdotal. It is consistent with limited research cited on requirements for adaptation to firm surfaces and tighter turn radiuses though. Also, consistent with trends observed in the US where injury rates have declined on new synthetic surfaces over the first few years, presumably as horses adapt to them. Might also be part of the reason why Cambridge has much lower injury rates than the two newer synthetics.

It seems from my reading though that the report is quite clear that we have insufficient data to draw any clear conclusions about what is required for that adaptation to occur.

Horses can adjust to different surfaces by fine tuning how the tendons dampen the loading of the limb (Wilson et al., 2001). However, we currently lack data on how quickly a horse can readjust from working, or training, on one type of surface to a different surface (Bardin et al., 2021). Data from a cross-sectional survey of dressage horses indicates that horses habituate to a certain surface and may in the short-term lose the ability to respond positively to different surfaces if variety in training surfaces is not included as part of the routine training programme (Murray et al., 2010)

Edited 18 hours ago by curious

[Special Agent]

32 minutes ago, curious said:

Data from a cross-sectional survey of dressage horses indicates that horses habituate to a certain surface and may in the short-term lose the ability to respond positively to different surfaces if variety in training surfaces is not included as part of the routine training programme (Murray et al., 2010)

I find this little section interesting.  Dressage action and speed is quite different to what we are talking about.  Variety in training surfaces seems important but, I'm not sure what variety is regularly on offer at Awapuni and Riccarton apart from swimming.

[curious]

1 minute ago, Special Agent said:

I find this little section interesting.  Dressage action and speed is quite different to what we are talking about.  Variety in training surfaces seems important but, I'm not sure what variety is regularly on offer at Awapuni and Riccarton apart from swimming.

They both have grass and sand/dirt tracks don't they as well as the synthetic?

[Special Agent]

1 hour ago, curious said:

They both have grass and sand/dirt tracks don't they as well as the synthetic?

I don't know what the availability of any of their tracks are.  I read on here recently how Riccarton horses went to Rangiora for grass gallops.  Same goes for Awapuni to Foxton.

[Freda]

2 hours ago, curious said:

No. That will be up to NZTR and the respective clubs.

So we won't be holding our breath then?