Thanks. I know there are some out there who may think I'm making much
to-do about something that doesn't happen very often, but, for me, there is
usually some knowledge to be gained by getting all the information that happened
at the ride when a horse dies out there. For others to learn.
One example is the accident where a horse got loose from a pen, fractured a
leg and had to be euthanized. This should be looked into more
closely. It's the kind of thing that has me up at night and constantly
checking my pen to make sure the horses are still in there. I'm to the
point where I consider hobbling, tying them to a trailer inside a fortified
pen.
There are other examples. No accident should go unnoticed
especially if a horse has to be put down because of a broken bone.
Learning everything might prevent one rider from repeating the mistakes of
others. Heck, let's at least make the attempt to learn from it.
I have one question. Why isn't the Horse Welfare Committee listed in
June's EN? The ball needs to roll on this. The Committee exists and
needs to be listed.
Good post, Howeard. I do find it interesting to
note, though, that deaths due to metabolic failure are those you suggest
are preventable, whereas death due to broken legs/necks from falling off
the trail are an accepted hazard. Are some trails just too risky for
endurance races? What exactly causes these accidents - are horses
stumbling? Spooking? Being run off the trail? Is rider
error at fault (failure to keep safe distance between horses, failure to
watch where they are going)? Should ride-managers be more careful in
planning routes? I ride some pretty hairy trails, and am no coward
when it comes to technical riding, but I have never 'fallen off' a trail or
seen anyone else do so... it seems to me to be a pretty avoidable hazard
- or is it?
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