Ridecamp: [RC] practical suggestions re leaving early

Susan Garlinghouse suendavid@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>  If you have a helpful hint=
 as to how YOU determine when it is safe to load your horse up=
 and leave, then by all means feel free to pass it along (in all=
 the heated exchange over leaving early, I don't recall seeing=
 any practical suggestions as how to know what is 'too soon'). =
 Just spare me the finger pointing: let's keep it informative and=
 practical. >>>>

Suits me, so here ya go.  Speaking not as a high mileage rider or a ride vet (at least not for another 320 days, but who's counting) :-D, just as a physiologist with some interest in gastroenterology and kidneys in general, here's what *my* suggestions would be.  Unless otherwise recommended by the treatment vet (ie, referring to a clinic), or barring unusual circumstances (home is VERY close by), then IMO I wouldn't suggest loading up for home if any of the following criteria are present:
1)  Heart rate not fully recovered to RESTING levels (well under 40 for most horses).

2)  Respiratory rate still elevated above, say, 16 (this is a totally arbitrary number)

3) Not eating or drinking.  I don't mean 'well, he had a couple of carrots' eating, I mean face stuffed in his bucket slurping down the goods.  And by drinking, I mean a couple of good, deep U-boat-commander type drinks.

4)  Poor gut sounds in any quadrant.

5)  Peeing coffee.  Telling everyone your horse just had a drink so he's fine is NOT OKAY.  Every time I hear that excuse, inevitably the horse is out of competition within a year or two with "mysterious kidney problems" and it just drives me wild.  Peeing coffee means you HAVE caused damage to muscle and the kidneys are RIGHT THAT MINUTE in emergency mode and probably being damaged on one level or another.  Not maybe, not my-horse-is-different, you have.  Don't make it worse by withdrawing water and putting the muscles back to work by loading him into a trailer.

6)  Look at how your horse is behaving.  If he's just standing and "looking inside" himself, he's not ready to travel.  He needs more time to recover, and/or you need to look closer for brewing problems.

7) Body temperature over about 101. Higher than that means he's still trying to dissipate internal heat and doesn't need to be shut up in a trailer without water.

8)  Lame.  Fine, maybe he has a stone bruise or something, but if it's hind end lameness, check with the treatment vet to make sure he's not tying up.  If he is, you need to stay and get more fluids into him, and ask the vet if he needs treatment, like some Banamine or ace.  Yes, I know you probably have those drugs in the trailer yourself, but shouldn't be given to dehydrated horses willy-nilly, as they'll just create more problems than they're solving.  If he's just tired and crampy, enough to be short-striding behind, don't ask him to go balance himself in a trailer.  The guy just worked hard for you, give him the consideration of a night of rest if at all possible.

All of this is just arbitrary criteria, and I know there are others that should be added to the list.

Susan G




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