I don't think that health certificates are the answer. Joe, you are very lucky that you haven't seen sick horses coming to rides. I know of several incidents in just the past couple years. My point for posting is that riders need to be aware that they are not only putting their own horses at risk when they show up to a ride with a sick horse, a recovering horse or a horse exposed to a other sick horses at home or at their barn. They are taking a chance with every horse that enters the ride. I don't think that other endurance riders have the right to make that decision about my horse. My real problem with exposure at endurance rides is that the event itself puts stress on our horses and then to have them exposed to some bug or disease only increases the chances that they may become infected.
I don't want more legislation but I would like to see a lot more peer pressure when somebody knowingly or unknowingly shows up at a ride with a horse that should have been left at home. Perhaps we are a little more sensitive in the PS region as a number of horses became very sick after 20 MT a couple years ago.
