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Re: [RC] Preventing treatments - Heidi SmithI have one suggestion. What if when a vet says, "I'm going to let you proceed but only under this condition..." they designate that horse's finish as "completion only". I really like this one! Stagg, are you writing these down? This one is absolutely implement able with no effort or expense involved. I believe it would require a rule change, tho--Bob? Actually, we used to do this frequently, and it was so often abused that the policy became such that there would be no "provisional" horses going forward. (I'm not sure if this is a rule or not, and haven't taken the time to go look.) I tend to agree with the more current view--much as I know that I trust some riders to take it easy if cautioned, etc., it isn't worth losing a horse because someone else is an idiot. The only loss of a horse for "exhausted horse syndrome" that I've ever had at a ride where I was head vet occurred for this very reason--the vet at the last check (very competent individual who really knew endurance horses, BTW) allowed the horse out with the provision that the rider walk the horse in, and next thing we knew, she had led the horse out of sight of the check and had gotten on and come in just as fast as she could. Her conduct was witnessed by PR people driving out of the check, and the vet's instructions were relayed to me via the same people--so I pulled her at the finish, even before realizing the trouble her horse was in. Her horse had to be euthanized a few days post-ride, after being continuously treated the entire time in between. I've never been willing to run the risk of sacrificing another horse in that way. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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