Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Protecting Horses! (Malibu Ride)

Kathy,

You need to remember that we are in the SE (as Joe Long points out) ride
in hot humid conditions year round. For example I just got back from a training
ride where the temp was 80 and it's trying to spit rain so the humidity is
in the 90's.  We didn't go hard but trotted for most of 7 or 8 miles at a
nice working trot. Most times (and again see Joe's post about the Morgan
Lain that would come in with high respiration, drop like a rock and leave
with high respiration) the fit horses in this region have learned to pant
to cool. . It's not uncommon here - and in other regions with similar conditions
- to have horses come in painting, drop like a rock, fly through the vet
check with all A's (including CRI), eat and drink for their hold time and
happily trot out on down the trail. 

Now there is a difference between panting and an oxygen debt. A panter will
stand there drawing rapid shallow breaths and be going about his business,
eating, drinking, etc. A horse in an oxygen debt will be standing there with
dinner plate eyes drawing very deep rapid breaths no interested in anything
else but taking rapid deep breaths. .   

My guess what you were seeing was for whatever reason the horses at this
ride were not conditioned to dissipate heat to the extend they needed to
for the conditions that day, the difficulty of the trail and the speed they
are riding was . If a horse only sees those type of condition once every
(say for the sake of discussion) every 3 years how are they going to be ready
to handle it when they do see it? So I would say the issue is not the panting
but the inability of the horses to dissipate heat. Just think how bad they
could of been if they were not panting and getting rid of some of the heat.


On the ride I referred to it is a very sandy ride (FL sugar sand). The winning
time was a little over 5 hours. The BC horse was second came in about 50
minutes behind. There were three pulls. One RO when a woman decided her horse
was going to be an absolute mad runaway about a mile out and turned around
and came back. The other two were lameness. There were not any pulls for
metabolics that day - every one took very good care of their horses. 

Truman

KathyZ1@xxxxxxx wrote:
> HI Truman:
>  I never saw a horse with this low a heart rate (44 - 48) except at the pre
> ride vet check when we were doing baselines.  The lowest heartrate I saw
> on ride day was 56 and that woman hand walked her horse into vet check#1.
>  When I'm referring to the panters (inversions) that the vets asked us to
> watch for--these horses almost looked like they're tummies were fibrillating
> --the panting was that fast and they had correspondingly high heart rates,
> though not as high as their resp.  These horses also had a hard time coming
> down to 60 whereupon we'd check their temps.
>  Once any horse came down to 60, I never checked it again.  Did riders stick
> around at your ride until their pulses were this low, Truman?  Were you checking
> horses that were this rested??  Lucky you!!! I only wish I saw one horse
> as rested as the ones you describe.  Not so on the Malibu Ride.  It seems
> the combination of the heat and the hills  was very hard on these horses. 
> Yes, it slowed them down (it took Suzy Kelley just over 9 hours to complete
> the 50), but it was very hard on most horses.  Suzy's horse looked great
> coming in to camp, tho.  
>  So as far as what I was seeing, on this ride anyway, the inverted horses
> that warranted our concern (according to our vets) had both high heart and
> resp rates.
>  I can understand that a heart rate of 44 and a resp or 48 wouldn't be a
> problem at all.
>  Maybe in my confusion we're talking about different scenarios here??
>   
>  Angie asked if I was doing prelimenary P & R's.  
>  Hi Angie:
>  Whenever anyone yelled P & R, I ran over and did it.  Riders without
> heart monitors couldn't really tell ( I guess) how their horses were doing
> as most of them were pulsing around 80 when the request was made.
>   
>  Also I have to add about the rider with the juniors.  As far as I could
> see, this woman was  courteous, polite and patient at vet check #1. >shrug< 
>   
>  Also her juniors seem to adore her.  They hang all over her,  touching her,
> hugging  her.  She's not much taller than they are.  They seemed like a very
> nice, very together bunch.  They were in no apparent hurry to leave vet check
> #1 that I could see.  Just my observations....for whatever that's worth.
>   
>  Truman wrote:
>   
>  Last Oct I worked the P&R for a FL ride. It was hot and humid on that
> ride. Just about every horse that came in was panting. It didn't seem to
> impact there recoveries much. I had horses come through at 44 and 48 by the
> time the riders got their selves together and cooled off. 
>   
>  So I don't believe this to be a valid observation. But one thing to remember
> on a panting horse is they need more electrolytes. 
>   
>   
> > 20020618.171149.-195527.12.Rides2far@xxxxxxxx"> 
> > > The 'panters' seemed to have higher heart rates as a general rule
> >       
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