[RC] To Ramy Jisha and BG 100 (BH 100?) - Faustina Duffy
My question to you is how many endurance miles does
your friend (who you crewed for) have?
I have 915
Endurance miles. I have ridden this horse for 12 years, 11 years BEFORE
I ever went to an endurance ride...and I am generally a very cautious
rider. Romeo and I ride for completion...and have earned completions in
one day rides as well as all 5 days of Shore to Shore last August
(with all a's on my vet card for 5 days). We had completed two 75
mile rides and one 100 mile ride so far this year. I am a long way
from the Hall of Fame...but this was not my first ride. And it certainly
wasn't my first time in the saddle. I have been riding, though not
endurance, for 20 years. I am NOT an expert, but I DO know my horse-he's
my best friend, not just the horse I ride.
This makes
all the difference knowing this as it is up to the rider to have their horse
properly conditioned, to recognize the signs of distress way before the horse
started to colic. Most experienced riders are so tuned into their horses
that they "sense" or "feel" when their horse is not right. And will ask
the vets to take a closer look. You are a vet-didn't you recognize the
signs of colic?
No, I did
NOT see any early signs-guess I'm not that tuned in or telepathic. I had
a horse that was eating EVERYTHING in sight at each hold and every time I
stopped along the trail (his normal behavior), Drinking at every opportunity
(his normal behavior) and behaving like his normal self on the trail (mellow
but willing). Pooping at each pile we passed (he's a stallion), and
peeing whenever I did (and I drink coffee even during rides). I KNEW I
had a tired horse, but he did NOT feel excessively tired. However,
if I had KNOWN that I passed within 1 mile of the vet check before I went out
towards Shag Nasty (unreadable map) I would have pulled. However, the
first ODD thing that happened on that trail was that my horse asked to speed
up...just as the temperature started cooling down. I assumed
he was smelling the horses ahead. There were NO signs of colic 17 miles
before it happened, the last time that Ramy had seen him. My vet card
says ALL OK for every hold before that. Eating, Drinking, Peeing and
Pooping were all normal.
For success I would suggest that you
and your friends adopt the attitude that you are on your own out there and
make sure you have the foresight to see when there is a change in your horses.
Do your homework!
I guess my homework will be to always
get a map of the trail in advance and never take the word of Ride Management
as to trail length or conditions (Before I continued from the 50 mile hold I
asked "How far, how high, and what footing? and was told that it would be
EASIER than the first 50 miles...not harder. I asked if we were
going to climb to that high an elevation again, knowing that it could affect
my horse, and was told "No, it never climbs that steeply again" which was
DEFINITELY not true. I was also told that it was rolling terrain.
Since the second "half" was 64 miles+ to be ridden in the dark, and had
equally hard climbs, I don't think that it was an accurate description.
But I didn't do enough homework to know that. I still had a lot of horse
underneath me when I left the 50 mile hold...at least, if his metabolics are
any indication. He's from the lowlands, but he never took more than 3
minutes to drop below the pulse criteria. I do NOT ride fast.
YES, I am responsible for what I ask
of my horse. BUT, I DO ask that Ride Management, at the LEAST, give me a
fair assessment of what I am riding into. PLEASE, do NOT attack my
experience when you don't know me.
Faustina Duffy, M33830
Finger pointing is not
the key. Look at yourself and say "what could I have done
differently?"
