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Wonderful post, Linda!!!!
Bette, who wants her offspring to go to riders who are more concerned 
about their horses than their miles and times
Linda Hedgpeth wrote:
> Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 5:01 PM
>
>     Subject: [RC] [Guest] Horse deaths and preventing treatments
>     Arthur B. King DVM arthur.king@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>     <mailto:arthur.king@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>      
>      Horses need to be examined at
>     least every 15 miles and have at least 90 minutes of hold in a 50
>     mile ride
>     and 3 hours in a 100 mile ride. there are rides where there are too few
>     vets,  they check the horses too few times and when they do check
>     them they
>     only do a half assed job of it. That has got to change!
>
>     Rules - no more than 15 miles between vet checks.
>     At least three vet checks in a 50 and at least 6 in a 100 mile ride. At
>     least 90 minutes of hold time (3 - 30 minute holds) in a 50 mile
>     ride and 3
>     hours in a 100 mile ride. The holds can be shorter towards the end
>     of a 100
>     if they are longer near the first part of the ride.
>
>     It is not rocket science. Gaykle Ecker's research showed that horses
>     need
>     to rest every 15 miles at least and that losses occur early in the
>     ride so
>     you need rest stops early in the ride.
>     Every ride where horses die or require extensive treatment has had
>     one or
>     more loops in excess of 15 miles and fewer than three checks per 50/6
>     checks per 100 miles.
>      
>     Bingo!  Come to NE CA and NW NV...........they regularly have 50
>     milers here, where the horses only see a vet after 25 miles and then
>     again at the end of the race.  There was talk of change after a mare
>     died at the NASTR race in 2001.........but it was just talk.
>
>     I am appalled by the horse deaths and the fact that AERC BOD as a
>     whole is
>     completely ignoring them as evidenced by their silence on the subject,
>     failure to respond o enquiries from the membership and failure to
>     act in
>     any substantive way to prevent these deaths. There were two deaths
>     at one
>     ride last February and one ride manager has had at least 5 deaths at
>     his
>     rides over the past few years.
>
>     In the spring of 2002 I sent several messages to the AERC Board. While
>     there are several on the BOD who do want to see some change occur, they
>     apparently are not in the majority, otherwise there would be some
>     action.
>     Their lack of action makes me wonder if the  Directors take their
>     responsibility any more seriously than the corrupt Directors of ENRON.
>      
>     I protested this mare's death in writing with a check for $100.  
>     You know what happened to it?????  After I didn't hear anything for
>     a long time, I inquired and found out.............they lost my
>     check.  If we do nothing, and we don't talk about it, and we don't
>     act for change, it will go away, right????
>
>     Linda
>
>
>     As for the AERC convention, I will have some strong words for the
>     BOD. I
>     have a lot of support from some Directors and some AERC members. We
>     need to
>     stop these deaths before some animal welfare organization shuts us
>     down!!


--
Bette Lamore
Whispering Oaks Arabians
Home of 16.2h TLA Halynov
who lives on through his legacy
Hal's Riverdance!
http://www.arabiansporthorse.com

Always remember: "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, 
but by the moments that take our breath away." (George Carlin)



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