You
always get more of whatever it is you focus your attention and energy....Thanks
for (hopefully) putting this baby to bed! I cannot agree with you more in terms
of what can cause a horse to "crash"..Took a horse I had in training out for a
trail ride one day..got less than a mile from home and he tied up severely at a walk
Horse
was taken to UCD animal hospital..almost lost him in the trailer...and that was
after several shots of Banamine to deaden the pain. Owner had been trying to get
weight on with something typically fed to cows..calf manna...mind you this was
in the 80's...horse merely had way too much lactic acid...horse unfortunately
was always prone to tying up after that, but finished Tevis in 7th the next
year...you just never know!
Ranelle
What we truly and earnestly aspire to be,
that in some sense we are. The mere aspiration, by changing the frame of mind,
for the moment realizes itself.
Anna Jameson
-----Original
Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bruce
Weary Sent: Monday, February 21, 2005 6:34 PM To:
ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] Horse Deaths
Take a chill pill, Jim. I have been in
this sport for more than a few years, and have always been impressed with the
efforts of those who find themselves at the upper eschelons of leadership.
There may be several reasons why, in the early stages of increased
awareness regarding horse deaths at rides, that information wasn't being
handed out at a feverish pace, like campaign buttons at a political rally.
Such a sensitive topic requires much consideration and deliberation by the
best minds our sport can muster, in order to get a handle on such things as 1)
Do we have a statistically significant problem with equine deaths as
compared to equally strenous equine pursuits? 2) Is the problem on the rise?
3) What portion of the blame can be attributed to rider
error/ignorance/hubris? 4) What are the appproriate ways to prepare for animal
rights activist reactions?5) What are the legal and liability issues for
the AERC,the vets,ride managers and even the riders themselves (if they were
riding a borrowed or leased horse)? I'm sure those involved at the time
and currently on the HWC could add to this list.
We all are sickened by the premature death of a
horse for whatever reason. Expressing that anger more loudly and more angrily
doesn't imply a greater level of knowledge or caring than those with a more
civil tone. I think we are going to find that many of the deaths that occur
are going to be found to be multi-causal in nature. There are so many
stressors that an endurance horse is potentially subjected to just to make it
to the starting line, that may predispose him to metabolic distress on ride
day, even when not overridden. A short list off the top of my head includes,
but is not limited to: Pre-dosing of electrolytes, fatigue from road
vibration for several hours in the trailer (while breathing exhaust
fumes), standing tied all night (possibly in inclement weather), changes
is altitude from that of home, GI changes (nervous diarrhea, possible changes
in gut microbe populations) etc., ......... I could go on. Jim, if these
things can and do contribute to what can really get a horse into a life and
death situation, it would seem logical that your anger would rightly be
directed at electrolytes, horse trailer manufacturers, geographic terrain and
bacteria. They all potentially lead to equine death as much as overriding.
I mean no insult with my facetiousness. This is a
multi-dimensional problem calling for multidimensional solutions. Rather
than being against how you think things were handled years ago, why
not be for ever better solutions that help us compete ever more safely
with our equine friends. I think cooler heads always prevail, and that's
where we are heading anyway. I know we could use your
help. Bruce Weary
