Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

There were 10 horse fatalities related to AERC endurance events in 2006. (or 
perhaps 7 - I'm not postitive on the number). Even at 7 this is more in ONE 
year than the last TEN years of WEC's. Are we perhaps living in a glass house?

In Paris, at the FEI Endurance Forum, I sat in on a 5 hour session where 
veterinarians from around the world discussed the 'good' the 'bad' and the 
'ugly' in our sport. Every man and woman there has seen the best and the worst 
that this sport can offer regarding horsemanship and horse welfare - at local 
rides and at International rides. And everone  was very focused on protecting 
the horses from ignorant or underqualified or overly competitive riders. FEI is 
addressing horse welfare much more vigorously than AERC ever has. Is it any 
different to see a horse die because the rider was ignorant than because the 
rider was over zealous? It's still a horse lost. Or is it more acceptable to 
see a horse suffer from a rider caught up in 'finishing' even if the horse is 
showing fatigue, than a rider caught up in 'winning' with a fatigued horse? Yes 
speed kills, so does ignorance.

When folks imply that high profile endurance might harm our grass roots sport, 
I'm not so sure. At least the FEI is making aggressive efforts to address horse 
welfare and acknowlege that there is room for improvement in the sport. Somehow 
the logic of 'if the world sees the worst of our sport they will try to shut us 
down' translates to 'our sport has a problem, but rather than address it let's 
keep people from seeing it'.

Jim - I don't understand your notion that those involved in International 
competition care less about horse welfare than those who are not.  Do you 
really think our 'backyard' version of the sport looks better to the outside 
viewer than the elite version? The best of the 'regular' ride is the seasoned 
fit rider on a seasoned fit horse, the worst of the 'regular' ride is a local 
Yahoo or unfit rider on a sorry beast. The best of the 'elite' ride is the 
seasoned fit rider on a seasoned fit horse, the worst is the overly ambitious 
Yahoo on a worn out athlete. Either way, there's a fine line to cross with our 
horses. we all know this. and when the line is crossed it does not feel good, 
and it does not look good. 

I really don't care if people are interested in International or 'elite' 
competition. That's entirely personal, but I do care that people understand 
that at this elite level - this is where the real research is happening. This 
is where an organization is actually spending money and manpower on trying to 
understand the problems and improve the sport and insure the future of the 
sport by addressing the foremost issue - horse welfare. 

I will later break down some of the points that were brought up during the 
forum up as those needing attention but I really want you guys to know that the 
problems are the same, the issues are the same, and the desire to protect the 
horse and protect the sport is very srong. FEI is a big boat, it takes a while 
to turn it around. The sport has exploded in the past 5 years, and FEI is 
trying to get a handle on it. And I think we'll all benefit in the long run.

Steph


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