Ridecamp: [RC] Protecting Horses

> One way to protect the horses from being overridden is to lower the  P
Rrates, 

I have a couple of problems with this. When a ride sets the P&R at 60
what that means to me is that I spend *more* time keeping my horse's head
away from the food and frantically sponging.   If not for the 60 thing,
he would hit 64, get right through the vet check and have more time to
eat while I can sponge him more if I want to lower his core temp.  I
think some really athletic horses may drop even though other issues are
cropping up (like low gut sounds in which case they need more time
eating).  

I was once on a training ride with a really good horse who tied up.  He
couldn't even drag a rear toe to move forward, but ate everything he
could reach and had a pulse of 32. 

I know everyone keeps mentioning how the Australians do things lately,
and I'm not an expert on it or anything...but I believe that if they have
recurring problems (like have a horse treated at two rides or something)
they are forced to drop down a level of competition.  Since we don't have
"levels of competition"...perhaps "you get get a horse treated twice and
you ride for mileage only the rest of the year" or something like that?

Angie  (never had one treated but does that mean I'm due?)



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