Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Thanks for everyone's feedback. Re: the cost, I never said that was the 
consideration-- if you knew what my feed bill was here in CA you would 
know that the cost of vaccines would be a very small consideration 
looking at my overall budget. I said I was concerned about the chances 
for allergic reactions as discussed on ridecamp. I see those posts and 
hesitate to take the chance. The more horses one has, the greater 
statistical chance for reactions. And yes. I already said I would not do 
one unless I did them all-- (The Sophie's Choice analogy--- e.g. how do 
you choose?) I have also heard of horses not having the vaccine and 
having a not so serious case of WNV. I would like to see more statistics 
on both. Also, as Diane pointed out, if you do get a reaction to the 
vaccine, do you give the second and third one?----what are the 
repercussions?
Not so long ago the trend was to vaccinate every year, sometimes 3-4 
times during the year (which I faithfully did) and now the current 
thoughts of the vets around here is less is better. This is still a new 
vaccine. My horses are isolated where I live now and I can control the 
environment to a large degree so I am in a unique position to wait and 
see a little. Want more info as I've learned not always to trust the 
pharmaceutical hype or vet recommendations (who are getting income based 
on giving this vaccine-- a conflict of interest-- more for some than 
others and one vet around here is far from sold on this vaccine)
If I had not heard of all the bad reactions on ridecamp, I would think 
nothing of vaccinating. I am waiting to see how the latest allergic 
reaction turns out. Please keep us informed, Diane.
Thanks again for the feedback
Bette and Bunny (who would now be dead had Mom followed the unanimous 
advice of five vets!)
PS This reference does not refer to the vets on ridecamp who are so 
generous with their expertise like Susan and Charlotte, etc.

Magnumsmom@xxxxxxx wrote:

> First, Bette... it's probably a good idea to get them all done.
> Even if you are not breeding Minnesota's state bird on your
> property,  your neighbor most likely is.  Or the highway along
> your property.  For 25 horses an initial and a booster are
> retail about $1250 total here in NM ($25 each) if the vet 
> gives them.  If I were you, look out in your herd and find the
> one that is worth the most.  THAT's the one you will lose.
>
> Then find the ones who are not worth $1250 to save.  I'll
> bet you don't have any.  You can start doing this in waves.
> I don't have $1250 to do 25 horses (but then I don't have
> 25 horses either), but I could come up with $200 to do the
> first set.  Just get going, eh?  :) 
>
> per the Tevis trail, if the person and horse named on this
> forum are the correct rider and horse, they both have, or
> had, at ton of experience on the Tevis trail.  BOTH were
> quite familiar with the area.  I'm very sorry for the loss.
>
> If the horse's heels were clipped from behind (there have
> been conflicting reports), that could have caused the horse
> to go down.  Clipping heels is one of the most dangerous
> aspects of flat track racing.  It's the front horse who will
> most often stumble (although the back horse could also
> be the one that goes down), and often if they both don't
> go down due to the clip, the back horse will then stumble
> over the downed horse.  The real affect is both jockeys
> will probably be thrown.  The injuries to both jockey and
> horses are sometimes nil, sometimes fatal, and everything
> inbetween.  It's a very dangerous situation even on a flat
> track (albet at speeds close to 40mph). 
>
> The point is that such events should always be avoided at
> all costs.  Dangerous rider's numbers should be reported
> to ride management for further investigation and possible
> DQ or atleast education for the future. 
>
> It's also quite possible that the horse's heels were not
> clipped by the horse behind.  There was a report that the
> horse behind was a length back... which should be a safe
> distance.  If the horse just tripped on it's own, that's an
> accident.  They happen.  The horse knew the trail, had
> lots of exprience, as did the rider, and I'm positive that if
> we all had it to do over, the actions would have been
> different... the rider would be off leading down, would
> have started behind, would have stayed home, whatever.
>
> Fortunately, we now have a HWC to investigate and take
> in information so the rest of us can LEARN.  At my first
> ride ever (I was crewing) a pretty little mare stepped off
> the side of a hill that was wide enough for a jeep (steep
> drop off, but nothing like Tevis) and broke her neck.  It
> was very sad, but it was an accident.  She just wasn't
> paying attention and got her back feet off the trail.  I'll
> bet to this day her rider wishes they'd been closer to the
> uphill edge, or atleast in the middle of the trail.  This is a
> trail / hill I later rode many many times.   At no point did
> I feel unsafe on that same trail. 
>
> Kathy Myers
> in Santa Fe, NM
> ps... when Magnum went into his 4 foot ditch in Dec 1999,
> I was thinking at that exact moment that had I been riding
> him I wouldn't have let him jig so far off the trail through
> that brush.  You couldn't see the footing and didn't know
> what was under there.  Same point, Blue walked right out
> into that dirt tank on Sunday.  I was worried about the mud.
> Had we stumbled into quicksand or something it would have
> been a real wreck.  But he wanted a drink so we tested an
> edge and found the mud doable.  Of course he then walked
> right out into the middle...  :P Fortunately, we were both OK
> and so were all 4 of his easyboots.


--
Bette Lamore
Whispering Oaks Arabians
Home of Bunny and 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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