Sled Dog Racing
One of the best ways to travel long distances in very cold places of the world is by using a dog sled. This is a sled that can carry a rider, supplies and is pulled by a pack of dogs. This method is the easiest and most effective way to travel across the snow and ice for long distances. The history of using dog sleds as transportation vehicles is long and very interesting. Over the years as modernisation set in, people started to have races with dog sleds. Sled dog racing is very popular in places like Alaska where people from all over the world come to watch and take part in the races.
The indigenous people of the Northern regions have for thousands of years used dogs for a variety of reasons. Dogs were used for companionship, transport, mail delivery and protection and now have started to be used as a form of racing. The first formal sled dog race took place in 1908 in Alaska and the winner completed the race in a time of 119 hours. Over the years this time was improved to the current record of 74 hours. With every year that passed the number of sled dog teams increased as well and the race started to become very popular in Canada and America. Sled dogs were first used as working animals and now they have become canine athletes capable of performing impressive feats in very harsh conditions.
A dog sled is controlled by a driver who is called a musher. The sled is pulled by two dozen dogs that are arranged in tandem and are chosen based on a variety of factors. Various breeds of dogs are used to pull the sleds. These can include Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes or Canadian or American Inuit Dogs. The majority of modern sled dogs that are used by mushers are usually a combination of different breeds that is commonly referred to as Alaskan Huskies. The dogs are specifically bred for a number of factors. They must have high levels of stamina, good feet, and good protective coats of fur and be able to work well in a harness. Breeders have been working for years and now they have reached the ideal type of sled dogs that are the most commonly used. Even though these types of dogs are the most ideally suited to racing, a few pioneers have proven that any type of dog can be used to race a dog sled and can be very successful doing it.
One particular area that mushers have to pay special attention to is the dog’s feet. Mushers have to take care of their dogs’ feet because dogs sweat only through their mouths and through their feet. A lot of mushers place special booties on their dogs’ feet to maintain them and protect them from injury due to the long distances the dogs have to travel.
Dog sleds can also be used for life saving reasons and not only for racing. In 1925, an outbreak of diphtheria was reported in the Alaskan town of Nome. Many dog sled teams were dispatched to the only place where a cure could be found, 1000 miles away in Anchorage. 20 teams of dog sleds set out in what was a sort of race but it was a race for a very specific purpose, to save lives. The dog sled team that was the first to bring the medicine back was led by a dog called Balto and the sled was driven by a musher named Gunner Kassen. Balto has become a local celebrity and is currently the most famous sled dog in the world. The feat was achieved in only six days and the path that the famous dog sled team used has today become the site of a race called the Iditarod. This story is so interesting because the dog that was leading the team became much more famous than the musher which is very rare. There is even a statue of Balto in the town of Nome.
Harsh conditions such as intense cold weather inspire people to innovate their own unique sports and sled dog racing is a prime example of this fact. Camel racing is an example from the very hot temperatures of deserts where that sport is popular. This interesting sport of sled dog racing seems at the moment that it will stay confined to the Northern regions of America and Canada. Maybe one day it will become main stream and popular in all the cold countries in the world.
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