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Re: [RC] treating horses - Dana B.
Melanie, I know your heart is in the right place. But as a fellow newbie, I have to disagree with you. True, the first time I volunteered at Tevis and saw horses being jugged it was a shock. But it didn't take any time at all to realize that endurance riders and vets are by far vastly superior in caring for their horses than other disciplines. Not to say I didn't shake my head at a certain front runner last Tevis who was over-riding their horse, but the vets took care of that soon enough. No, where I have been most concerned over the welfare of horses is at routine trail rides, mostly done by folks who think endurance riders abuse their horses. Where did I identify a colicking horse for the first time? At a trail ride. My first tie-up? The same trail ride. So no, I wouldn't recommend returning to "trail riding" as a means of escape. They're just too ignorant to jug their horses, that's all. Yes, that's harsh, but I'm pretty disgusted with folks' sanctimonious views on endurance riding who never let their horses eat on the trail or worry about riding them hard with little conditioning. Sure, seeing the same horse/rider being treated ride after ride would trouble me, but at least I don't feel like I need to ride everyone's horse for them at an endurance ride. I can't do trail rides any more, I go crazy worrying about everyone's horses.... Dana Baldwin ddbpaso@xxxxxxxxx ************************************ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search
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