Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Truman, you have brought up some very valid points on the allocation of vet resources 
at a ride.  One of the reasons I, for one, haven't given that issue much thought is 
that the number of LD participants is dramatically lower out here than in your 
region.  When you speak of a ride with 60 LD riders... heck, in years past, a good 
turnout was 60 riders altogether!  Take the Run for the Gold here in Mariposa this 
year.  We had 105 starters, the very highest ever, but only 26 LD starters. In 2004 
we had 60 total starters and in 2003, only 46 with 16 LD's.  If a ride were to have 
60 LD finishers, even a bare 2 mins/horse would represent 2 hours of vet time.  To do 
a really good job you'd need more like 5 mins/horse or 5 hours of vet time.  Ouch!

Even so, I still think using a Top Ten finish is not a good choice for a ride that by 
its nature draws the least experienced of riders to sign up.  Still, we DO need some 
kind of filter if LD continues to grow in popularity - a filter that is easy and 
quick to apply, doesn't require a vet or other professional and which doesn't have 
speed as a component.  May I suggest the CRI?  Though interpreting the results of a 
CRI test should be done by the LD BC vet, the actual administering of the test could 
be any member of ride management familiar with the correct procedure, just as we use 
ride volunteers to do all the pulse-taking in the vet checks.  After a horse received 
its completion from the vet, it would next be presented to the CRI test administrator 
who would give the test and record the results on the rider's card.  The cards would 
then be turned over to the LD BC vet.  Each test would take less than 2 minutes and 
not require any vet time.

Does that sound like a workable compromise?  No speed, no Top Ten placings, no huge 
drag on the vets' time.  An added bonus would be that a horse apparently "just tired" 
but actually in danger of crashing could be quickly identified so treatment could be 
started if the vets thought it necessary.


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