Well, you kind of sort of got the first part right at
least. Up to the part where you come in to the vet check.
When arriving at the vet check, yes the time is marked on
your card. From that point you have 30 minutes to pulse down to
60. Usually you stay near the pulse people as HOPEFULLY this won't take
too long. If you came into the check slow anyway. Which is a good
idea if you want to pulse down quickly. If it is warm enough out, definately
sponge, scoop and let horse drink. I find that my horse will actually
pulse down faster if I let her eat some if she is hungry. Other wise her
pulse stays up because she is worried about food. But when pulse is
being taken, no she is not allowed to eat. When you pulse
down the time is noted and that is when your hold time begins. The hold
times were given to you at the ride meeting.
Unless there is something major that needs to be taken care
of it is probably best to present to the vet immediately. Usually at a
regular endurance ride it is not necessary to pull tack unless that has been
requested by the vet at the ride meeting. Or unless it is the end of the
ride, final vet check. At this time the clock is ticking on your hold
time. If the vet line is long or if the weather is nasty it is nice to
have maybe a hay bag so that your horse can start munching, or a blanket to
cover up to keep the back and hind quarters warm. Also to keep your
saddle seat dry :-)
When vet is done and gives you to OK to continue
(hopefully), your main priority is food, more drink if horse will drink, AND
don't forget to take care of the rider. Make sure you drink or eat if
you need to. Take care of any tack issues that you might be
having. Replenish water bottles, and people or horse snacks that you may
carry.
No, you can't stay as SHORT of time you want. The hold
times are manditory. You must stay in camp for at least the time that
was given for the hold at the ride meeting. The hold time started when
you horse pulsed down, not when you came into camp. The timer should let
you know and write on your card when you can leave camp. You can not
leave before that time. Hold times are not always the same for
every vet check. You can stay longer, but try, try, try to get back on
the trail when your hold time is up. If you NEED more time for horse to
eat, take it, but remember that you can do some grazing on the trail
too. At least you are on the trail making forward progress. But if
you are just sitting in camp you are chewing up precious minutes that you may
need on the trail. It wasn't long ago on ride camp that one of the all
knowing gurus said "Don't hurry, but don't tarry". I find that very good
advice.
Repeat for all other loops.
At the end of the ride, if doing a LD ride treat it pretty
much like a vet check. Your time doesn't stop until your horse pulses
down to criteria. If doing a 50 or greater time stops when you cross the
finish line. But horse still must pulse down in a reasonable amount of
time and horse must pass completion exam. There is a lot more that can
be said about the finish, but if you are doing LD's. Just treat it with
the same seriousness as a vet check. Except, you can stay in camp the
rest of the day at that point. :-)
