 |
Re: [RC] Nationals and treatment - heidiIn reply to the question about the Nationals and horses treated: It was unexpectedly very hot the day of the 100, and the trail was also much tougher than I think most riders expected, with lots of tough climbs without shade. The head vet Barney Fleming announced at the ride meeting they would be very conservative with treatment because this was a high profile ride, and indeed they were. Lots of very experienced top riders pulled on their own or were pulled and some of their horses were given fluids preventatively. In the Olympics, I am told, eventing horses are given fluids when they get off the trailer and in between rounds as a matter of course, to prevent dehydration related problems. I hope endurance riders don't believe there's any stigma associated with having a vet give fluids to their horse--such is not at all necessarily correlative with "overriding," and we certainly shouldn't discourage any treatment that is for the welfare of the horse by making it embarrassing for the rider to request it. Dabney, while I agree wholeheartedly with your last paragraph, there are some things about this statement and this general situation which greatly concern me. One--intravenous treatment is an invasive procedure which also carries inherent risks. While I agree that there should be no hesitation to use it if the situation warrants, and there should be no stigma attached, I am concerned at the concept that it is simply a harmless preventative that should be sought at the slightest hint of a problem. The other thing that concerns me is your first statement about the weather being unexpectedly hot. We are supposed to be dealing with the best of the best here, in terms of riders, and that INCLUDES the good sense to SLOW DOWN and ride to conditions when such conditions are present. Had this been just a regular ride on such a day, I'd wager that at least a fair number of these same riders involved WOULD have slowed down, and would have avoided the necessity for treatment--and in many cases might well have even finished. However, since AERC has deemed that this is not a "regular ride" but has instead chosen to have a form of championship that puts all the eggs in one basket, so to speak, we have in essence pressured riders to sell out on the very notion that our first and foremost task in riding is to protect the horse. As the riders slough off the responsibility to ride their horses to the ambient conditions because of the pursuit of glory, there is more and more pressure put on the veterinary staff, and more and more risk of irreversible damage. One of the statements made in support of the concept of a one-day championship was that it would somehow be "better" for the horses. This ride (as well as previous high-profile events) has once again underscored the fact that this simply isn't true. The pressure of a one-day race for an overall championship simply causes riders to take risks with their horses, ignoring the ambient conditions to their detriment. Back to your last paragraph--sometimes the need for treatment happens, despite the care and caution that riders should (and usually do) practice. And in such cases, there indeed should NOT be any stigma in doing the right thing for the horse--which is to take care of the problem. However, when any one ride has such an overwhelming percentage of horses on jugs, there is something clearly wrong with the picture. It is long past time that we re-visited the concept of the championship being a "good thing" for horse welfare, and admitted that it is exactly what it is--a one-day race with all the eggs in one basket that puts the horses at significant risk. 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|