Absolutely no excuse for rudeness to volunteers. I'm sure it's frustrating
to front runners when they feel "inexperienced" or "inaccurate" folks are
slowing them up. But hey, if I was the volunteer, I'd just do them the
courtesy of letting them find someone they preferred to check their
horses........perhaps the ride manager. Or the vet, when that individual is
completely available. Can't find anyone else immediately available??
Darn. Let it be the riders' problem if they can't be respectful.
That said, I haven't been to a ride that monitored respirations as a part of
routine criteria in a long time. It used to be common, but now it seems to
be used by the vets only if something is catching their eye, or if other
parameters are indicating a problem.
And yikes, I sure wouldn't want everyone who was checked and was one beat
high to be penalized ten minutes. Why punish everyone whose horse
momentarily loses sight of a buddy just because some individuals are jerks?
Put the penalty where it belongs.
pat farmer