RE: [RC] Is my horse off? When vet opinions differ... - Alisanne Steele
<<<<<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.>>>>>
It seams to me that the point of “fit
to continue” and the role of a Vet before/during/after any ride is to
advocate for the horse and prevent additional harm/injury when he sees
something amiss. If a Vet sees something “off” he has an
obligation to inform the owner/rider, even at the END of a ride, regardless if
it costs a completion. An informed owner can better watch out for possible
issues, and work to avoid repeating or exacerbating the “off”
condition.
If the Vet simply sends you on your way
with a completion and without potentially important information, he is not
serving the horse for whom he is supposed to advocate. If the Vet is
asked about his comment/opinion in regards to the “off” condition
by a concerned rider/owner, a simple, brief, explanation is in order, not an
abrupt, dismissing, take your completion and go.
I understand that the Vets can be
inundated with questions from a large number of riders at any given event, and
I understand they are not there to be at our beck and call, however in their
capacity as advocate, and when they comment on the fitness (to continue) of a
horse, I truly believe that they have an obligation to provide at least minimal
answers to the rider’s/owner’s questions.
I expect that the majority (hopefully the large
majority) of riders/owners would rather have information pertinent to the
health/fitness of their horse than a completion marked with an asterisk.
