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Re: [RC] [Guest] My Last Words on Matthew's proposal..then - Sisu West Ranch"My wife, Becky, says to me, "Frank, you're either Fit to Continue or you're not. If you are Fit to Continue, continue...racing, placing, putzing along, whatever. Why complicate it so much?" Becky is a very smart person." Because it is complicated. To make this clearer: Last summer I went to the Long X ride. Because my horse was only in condition to do a slow 25. That is what I did. I could have shown up and successfully veted in for the 50. By the symplistic criteria above the vet would have had to (and been capable of) saying that he was or was not fit to continue (that is start) to race a 50. By the same token the vet would have had to have concluded at the mid point of the 25 that he was fit to race the last half or not have let me continue. Note that because the temperature was going up very rapidly and to a very high temperature (~105 F) I did the first half at the same pace as the winner. Ranger pulsed down fine and his scores were fine. I knew that I had to slow down to finish sound etc. and did. He was actually fit to continue at a "putzing along" pace but not a "racing" pace. Since horses are living beings nothing concerning them is black and white. At each vet check (and in between) a judgement must be made by the vet and rider about the health of the equine. The parameters are not absolute! Note: both ends are, a fit rested hydrated etc. horse that shows no gait abnormalities even on circles is fit to continue. An exhausted horse with few gut sounds that is limping at the walk is not fit to continue. All other horses fit somewhere inbetween. It is always a judgement call as to which side of the "fit to continue" line a given horse is at a given time. The expected amount of exercise he is going to be expected to do is part of the equation. This fact is reflected in the AERC rule concerning completion criteria. By the rule the vet does not have to be as stringent as he/she does during the earlier examinations. Ed Ed and Wendy Hauser Sisu West 2994 Mittower Road Victor, MT 59875 (406) 642-9640 ranch@xxxxxxxxxxx =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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