Ridecamp: Re: [RC] RC: Vetting procedures

>Horses that
> are running on adrenaline and guts don't pulse down very quickly

Usually.  Sometimes they do, if they have really hardy cardiovascular
systems.  Extremely exhausted horses sometimes pulse down very
quickly--sometimes chronically exhausted horses can't raise their heart
rates very high in the first place.  Such horses tend to die if they crash,
BTW....

>but, do
> look without a doubt fit enough to continue.

Again, usually.  Some look very fit to continue at a glance, others do not.
It is the former ones that pass a vet check and then go back to the crew
area and fall apart--and may well continue down the trail unless the
standard vetting protocol is to see the horses toward the end of the check.

>Until you examine other
> facets of of the metabolic workings of the horse.

Which is why no matter how experienced the vet, there is still a need for
that vet to get hands and a stethoscope on that horse.  There is more info
to be had than is available at a glance--even though the experienced vet can
pick it up very quickly, and the rider may not realize the horse has
actually had a fairly substantive exam.

>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.

Or the rider is tired, or dehydrated, or caught up in the adrenaline of the
moment himself.  All of which I've seen happen to very experienced and
competent horsemen.

>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.

I agree that the rider should not "blame" the vet.  The rider should always
take the ultimate responsibility.  However, the vet who does NOT do a
reasonably substantive exam is nonetheless not doing his job and has no
business vetting rides.  There are two sides to this problem--one being that
the rider is ultimately responsible, but the other being that our sport and
our organization have every reason to protect themselves from riders who do
NOT take their responsibility (or are not capable of it) and have stopgaps
in place in the form of veterinary controls.  Not all horses have the good
fortune of having capable and responsible riders.  (And I'd submit that even
the most capable of riders is capable of making a poor choice under
stressful circumstances, and the information obtained from a good exam by a
good ride veterinarian may well head off that same poor choice.  Good riders
and good ride vets work together in the best interests of the horse, and
should be able to rely on the information they get from each other.  Poor
riders and poor ride vets are a recipe for a crash.  RM's at least have
control over the quality of vetting, even if they can't always prevent
riders with poor judgment from entering.)

As one of my colleagues so aptly put it, "We are the voice of the horse."

Heidi


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