system failure at NASTR

["jsalas" <jsalas@tampabay.rr.com>]

I am not sure what NASTR stands for but I will assume (man I hate to do that) it was an endurance ride. I don't understand how this situation happened if everything I have read is fairly accurate. If the horse was galloping for 50 miles and conditioned to do that, it would have gotten great scores at the vet check. If the horse was not conditioned for that, I'm thinking that the vet scores had to start  showing  that at the first check. Or at least the 2nd check. PLEASE UNDERSTAND, I AM NOT LAYING BLAME TO ANYONE!!! Except for the person who was riding this horse because they are ultimately responsible. Is this why a lot of the "hot rodders" are able to get away with that kind of riding? Like I said, if the horse is trained and conditioned to gallop for 50 miles, there would be no problem. If Valerie Kanavy can finish a 100 miler in the times that she does, she is cruising. But, the vet checks are suppose to be our safeguards. That is why we have them. There should not be any horses dying at the end of a ride. An accident is one thing, but running a horse to death just should not be happening. If the horse was that bad at the end, it was bad at the vet check before the end. It had to be. It is a sad story to say the least. Lisa Salas, The Odd FArm