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[RC] running to death - Jackie CausgrovePersonal expereince.... And I think it's a big maybe to that answer. First off, I have had a horse blow his aorta when running down a field. I was managing a polo farm and the owner asked if I would like to learn polo. Thought it might be fun to play a bit. So, we brought an older, retiree to the field that day. After the game, we tacked up and after warming up, we started playing a bit of polo ( he was taking it easy on me, as I explicited told him -no, mallets in my face! Broken nose, I didn't want). My horse and I were galloping down the field, I was leaning over to hit the ball and the next thing I knew we had slammed into the ground. I had been riding for about 15 years by then and it happened so fast I never had a chance to bail off. I was pinned under the horse and had to wait for the horse to die. They got a tractor and dragged the horse off and I went out on a backboard with
EMS. I ripped apart my left ankle and broke a couple ribs. But no broken nose... But the horse did not die because he ran to death. He could have keeled over just as easily by running in the pasture. I was told by a vet then that horses typically do not have heart attacks but will blow a vessel. I don't know if that is correct or not; or if that was what was thought at the time...... I've also been an exercise girl at the track and most race horses don't die dramatically on the track like that. When something dramatic happens during a race, it's usually because the leg breaks and the horse falls. But the horse didn't run to death, due to oxygen debt etc.... That has to do with the fact that those horses are intraining so young etc.... But that's a different issue... Certainly horses flight reflex is well intact and that makes
sense. But then again, most of today's horses are quite overdomisticated. Just because the professor was talking about physiological aspects of an equine doesn't necessarily mean that it will be so. Meaning just because there is a potential for this happening, there are factors to be considered. I've had horses when tired, certainly slowed down. They were even Thoroughbreds and they knew enough to take care of themselves. So a definate maybe! Jackie
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