Common Factors Affecting Performance and Soundness
Dec 30, 2018 13:36:00 GMT 10
Post by Tom Meulman on Dec 30, 2018 13:36:00 GMT 10
There are a number of factors that influence the ability of the greyhound to perform consistently without sustaining severe muscle damage.
The first factor is genetic; as there is no doubt that particular lines suffer more from torn muscle tissue than others.
The second is training; the main problem occurs when the training regime includes consistent repetitive exercise that increases muscle bulk without stretching the muscle tissue to it maximum length. Then when called upon to fully stretch, muscle damage often occurs to either the muscle sheaths to adjacent muscles, or to a primary muscle itself.
Having been heavily involved for the past 35 years in assisting trainers in maintaining the soundness of their racing greyhounds, I have seen an increase in major muscle damage particularly over the past 10 years.
This IMHO has coincided with changes in training methods, such as work in 100 metre or shorter competitive exercise yards, and/or the use of exercise yards on a daily basis to increase fitness without the greyhound chasing hard by running behind a lure.
One of the problems is that during this type of work the greyhound while it appears to run at nfull speed, never really fully stretches. This has the effect of conditioning muscles to only stretch to a limited length as well as bulk up more, and then when the greyhound chases the lure during a race and does fully stretch, muscle damage such as micro tears are more common in various groups of muscle tissue.
The second problem that occurs due to this type of exercise is that the constant turning in a narrow space increases muscle spasms in both the Dorsal and Lumbar Vertebrae, resulting in impaired nerve supply to some muscle groups. Again limiting the ability of those muscles to fully stretch comfortably and recover quickly.
The third factor is of course diet. Most trainers that I know feed far too dry, and most greyhounds are notorious for drinking very little in relationship to amount of exercise they do.
This has the effect that many greyhounds are in a constant state of dehydration, and this further affects the pliability of the muscle tissue.
All of this adds up to a greyhound that has been conditioned by their trainer to sprint quickly but only have a short racing career.
Tom
The first factor is genetic; as there is no doubt that particular lines suffer more from torn muscle tissue than others.
The second is training; the main problem occurs when the training regime includes consistent repetitive exercise that increases muscle bulk without stretching the muscle tissue to it maximum length. Then when called upon to fully stretch, muscle damage often occurs to either the muscle sheaths to adjacent muscles, or to a primary muscle itself.
Having been heavily involved for the past 35 years in assisting trainers in maintaining the soundness of their racing greyhounds, I have seen an increase in major muscle damage particularly over the past 10 years.
This IMHO has coincided with changes in training methods, such as work in 100 metre or shorter competitive exercise yards, and/or the use of exercise yards on a daily basis to increase fitness without the greyhound chasing hard by running behind a lure.
One of the problems is that during this type of work the greyhound while it appears to run at nfull speed, never really fully stretches. This has the effect of conditioning muscles to only stretch to a limited length as well as bulk up more, and then when the greyhound chases the lure during a race and does fully stretch, muscle damage such as micro tears are more common in various groups of muscle tissue.
The second problem that occurs due to this type of exercise is that the constant turning in a narrow space increases muscle spasms in both the Dorsal and Lumbar Vertebrae, resulting in impaired nerve supply to some muscle groups. Again limiting the ability of those muscles to fully stretch comfortably and recover quickly.
The third factor is of course diet. Most trainers that I know feed far too dry, and most greyhounds are notorious for drinking very little in relationship to amount of exercise they do.
This has the effect that many greyhounds are in a constant state of dehydration, and this further affects the pliability of the muscle tissue.
All of this adds up to a greyhound that has been conditioned by their trainer to sprint quickly but only have a short racing career.
Tom