Ridecamp: Re: [RC] RC: Vetting procedures

I've always remembered entering a vet check and handing my card to the
in timer, then having my in time recorded on the card. Then I'll have to
go to a P&R person for my pulse time. After which I can elect to either
let my horse drink or eat as it wishes or go directly for a vet check.
Since the time it took my horse to recover is already on my vet card,
the examining vet treats the horse accordingly. Say if my in time at Vet
#__ was 11:57 hrs. and my pulse time was 12:17 hrs. without even
examining the horse the the safest recommendation would be to have the
horse wait 15 or 20 more minutes before being checked since it took 20
minutes for it to pulse down. Upon check I would without a doubt do a
CRI due to the fact that it took 20 minutes for the horse to reach pulse
criteria, indicating that it was either being ridden too hard or not
conditioned enough for the terrain or weather conditions. Horses that
are running on adrenaline and guts don't pulse down very quickly but, do
look without a doubt fit enough to continue. Until you examine other
facets of of the metabolic workings of the horse. Still, unless the
rider is totally unfamiliar with horses they know whether or not the
horse is fit enough to compete at the pace it's made to compete at. I
still say that any rider that blames a vet for not doing a complete
enough vet check on their horse is either looking for someone else to
blame for any problems encountered with the horse during the ride or,
totally uneducated about the details of the activity they are subjecting
another living creature to.

Rob

Truman Prevatt wrote:

> In this region we pretty much do go to the check after the pulse down.
> Some vets want to see how well they recover, i.e. how long it takes
> the to pulse down (and most do look at the times) and what they look
> like during the recovery phase. But if there is any question or the
> feeling that they are infact running on guts, they hold their card and
> have them return before going out.
>
> I do think the CRI at some point right before they go back out is a
> good idea - at least at about midway on a 50 and maybe a couple times
> on a 100.
>
> Truman
>
> Heidi Smith wrote:
>
>> > Heidi is absolutely correct. I've seen many vets do a full exam on
>> > a
>> > horse, including the CRI in about a minute from the time the horse
>> > steps
>> > in till they are finished. Not only does looking at all the
>> > parameters
>> > give the vet a good idea what is going on, it gives the rider a
>> > good
>> > idea also and they are much better informed to make smart
>> > decisions..
>> >
>> I'll add, too, Truman, that in well over 250 rides vetted, I've only
>> seen
>> one horse crash that truly gave us what I would consider no signs of
>> pending
>> problems at the prior vet check, despite what another poster
>> suggested.
>> (She did not, however, have all A's.)  That particular mare did not
>> "feel"
>> right to her rider, who opted to pull anyway, and the mare crashed
>> three
>> hours later.  Yes, I've seen a few with all A's up to a vet check
>> BEFORE
>> they started showing signs of problems--but the signs DO show up in
>> almost
>> all cases long enough before a horse crashes that in most cases one
>> can
>> prevent a crash by pulling.  One of the BIG problems I see prevalent
>> at AERC
>> rides is vetting horses through immediately after they pulse down,
>> rather
>> than waiting until toward the ends of their holds--I've picked up
>> MANY
>> horses not fit to go on that "let their hair down" so to speak
>> during the
>> hold, but were running on guts and adr
>> enaline and looked perfectly fine
>> right after they pulsed down.  At far too many rides, these horses
>> are
>> already vetted through and end up back out on the trail, only to
>> crash at
>> the NEXT check--but if they are vetted after their holds, they are
>> caught in
>> time to either pull or to slow down substantially BEFORE the damage
>> occurs.
>> I was intrigued at Fort Howes that even though we were made to vet
>> through
>> right after our pulse-down, we were nonetheless required to
>> represent for a
>> mini-exam just prior to leaving.  Perhaps vets are beginning to
>> figure this
>> out??  I thought that the duplication of effort was a bit wasteful
>> (having
>> to essentially vet through twice) but did think it was a step in the
>> right
>> direction.  Hopefully eventually more vets will learn to direct
>> managers to
>> simply send the horses on to their camps or crews after pulse-down
>> (with the
>> proviso that we are glad to look at any horse the rider wishes to
>> have seen
>> at any time d
>> uring the check, but that the actual vetting-out won't be done
>> until the end), and simply have the horses back to present 5-10
>> minutes
>> before they are due to leave.  This really catches a lot more
>> problems in
>> the early stages--and after all, the goal here is to PREVENT
>> crashes, not to
>> just be there when they happen.
>>
>> Heidi
>>
>>
>>
--
Rob Kalb
Rob's Equine Hoof Care
Phelan CA



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