Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Bruce Weary <bweary@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

  I can appreciate the challenges that individual riders foresee when they imagine coping with this, or any, new rule. But when we are evaluating whether a rule would be effective *when applied across the board* I think we have to relinquish the luxury of regretting how a rule might impact our particular, individual preferences.

 

 

I think it may end up impacting ride managers more than anyone.  Will they have to have additional vets at the finish in order to anticipate even more of a clog at the vet lines?  Will they have to change their finish lines to make them closer to vet checks which we've heard in the past can be more dangerous for partcipants as well as volunteers and spectators?  Will managers have to be more creative with start times to try and keep finishers spread out more during the day? And then, how will it really affect our horses?  If there's a long walk, long line to vet check and say it really does take 40 min. to get your card in a vet's hands, are you DQ'd? And how does your horse handle a finish that may not have a sufficient amount of hay at the check line while trying to get through the occasional long wait?   

 Which horse are we more likely to be fooled into thinking he's okay, and finding out we were wrong--The horse that pulses down quickly or the horse that takes 45-60 minutes to pulse down? 

 

Now, I have a question for the vets, say it takes 45 min. for the HR to finally reach 60.  Is it not the vet's perogative to look for causes and to pull said horse even though it reached criteria in under one hour?  I would say a 45 min. pulse time wouldn't fool anyone into thinking the horse was okay, to me it seems like it's a major red flag and a cause for looking more closely.  Maybe a low gut score combined with the 45 min. recovery time would be an example where the vet steps in and makes the call?  I imagine it happens although I've not personally witnessed it.  I actually can only recall one horse over the past five years (that I've personally seen) that may not have pulsed down within an hour, heavy muscled QH, top ten on a 50, in really hot weather.  May or may not have reached criteria, I don't recall the outcome. 

 

The 30 min. rule would not bother me one whit, except that in the end nothing has changed except the ride managers ending up with more of a headace putting on rides.  Addititional vets cost money, ride managers have precious little to utilize, changing finish lines/vet checks could be a logistical nightmare for some rides and possibly a safety issure for competitors and spectators.  I'd like to hear from the ones who will be affected the most - RM's and vets. Especially large rides that fit the examples that people have been trying to discuss.

 

heidi

 

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