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Re: [RC] [RC] Is my horse off? When vet opinions differ... - Terry Banister

That is why hoof boots are so great! Even if the horse has no problem doing 50 miles barefoot, the boots elimate any concern/doubt/paranoia on the part of the rider or the vet that a lameness is due to footsoreness. Boots also protect against freak accidents like construction nails in the hoof, kicking hidden metal objects off trail, and they are great for multi-day rides, because a horse could get heelsore after 50 miles day after day.
Terry
Freethefeet!

From: "Mary Ann Spencer" <maryann.spencer@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: "Mary Ann Spencer" <maryann.spencer@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ajandcrysta@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,<rides2far@xxxxxxxx>
CC: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [RC]   Is my horse off?  When vet opinions differ...
Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 21:11:37 -0500

Well to finish is to win is great. I had a bad experience at the end of a ride at Biltmore. Could not feel anything wrong but finished in good time but they would not give a finish. I think of it was due to us riding barefoot.... much more controversial in 2000 than now. BUT, we had to break hard enroute due to traffic accident so I think she may have had a kink in a muscle. There was no problems later. Seems being off can be both subjective and political. I think we were the only barefoot horses. Was a great ride otherwise. I know we don't want to harm our horses but there are times when things are nitpicking. But then maybe that is due to my mostly riding in TX. I did not like NATRAC due to the phoniness of it all... seemed more a place for ex show horses to see a trail.. IMHO
----- Original Message -----
From: rides2far@xxxxxxxx
To: ajandcrysta@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2006 8:34 PM
Subject: Re: [RC] Is my horse off? When vet opinions differ...



  he asked if I knew my horse was off
  > behind.  I said "No, he felt fine all day."  When my friend who was
  > standing there offered to trot my horse for me so I could watch as
  > well I was told by the vet, "I wouldn't do that.  Just take your
  > completion and go."  I was TOTALLY FLOORED!  Wow!  That just seemed
  > so rude.

That's not rude. That's called, "I don't want to pull you at the finish".
I have no idea about your horse, but I love a vet who sees 8 good steps
and turns his back at the finish. There was a time when AERC did not have
a "fit to continue" rule. Someone could run their horse into the ground
the last loop and if it could walk sound it got a completion. That was
bad. So, we started "fit to continue" which is good. However, if you ever
manage a ride you'll see concientious riders who have done a good job all
day, finished with a perfectly sound horse, then it stands in the vet
line, gets a little hitch and doesn't trot out very well at the finish.
Just a muscle tightening up...they'll look great in the morning but it's
enough to lose your fit to continue.

What I hate is a vet who asks someone to trot twice for completion
because they're not sure...but they think they *might* have seen
something. Come on! If you're not sure, give them the darned completion.
The point of "fit to continue" was to protect the horses, not to cut down
on the number of finishers. My favorite vets are the ones who look
carefully as the horse trots away, see him give a good step on each leg,
and immediately turn their back to fill out the card. You know they have
had to pull someone they didn't want to pull at the finish before and
they want to do their job, but not pull if they don't have to.

On the vetting thing. Jim Baldwin was at Biltmore one year and told my
friend her horse had a problem with his hocks. This horse had never had a
problem, was going *great* winning rides & getting BC. No vet had ever
mentioned *anything*. I honestly thought it was the "too many good vets
in one place trying to outdo each other with what they see" syndrome. Not
long after that her horse started getting a sore back. After trying to
figure out why the saddle he'd been wearing was becoming a problem her
vet finally figured out his *hocks* were sore. Hocks got injected, back
got OK. Jim Baldwin...you can say "I told you so". >g<

  Moral is...if it was a good enough vet, just keep what he said in the
  back of your mind and if there's a problem later, that's a good place to
  start looking. Don't mention what he said to other vets  you want to ask
  about it until *after* they watch your horse so they're able to judge
  without predjudice...then after the first impression, you could mention
  what he said and see if they know any tests to check for it. I've had
  vets be right *and* wrong. I had a Walking Horse Vet swear Kaboot had
  stifle trouble because he was swinging his hind leg wide rather than up
  and forward, but it didn't react to any flexing. Chiro adjusted his hip
  and he quit. I guess stuff like this is what makes this sport
  interesting.

  Angie McGhee
  Wildwood, GA

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Replies
Re: [RC] Is my horse off? When vet opinions differ..., Mary Ann Spencer