What WILL change is that the horse whose rider is willing to override him on the last leg of the ride is less apt to get a completion to reward said rider for that action. And if it slows down that handful of problem riders, it will be their horses who feel the change.
and Ed wrote:
" last fall when I PR'd, I found that it was not the leaders who took a long time to come down it was those at the back of the pack."
So......... is there a target group that this new rule is proposed for? And, BTW I loved Diane's idea, vet in, pulse down within 30 min. and you still have and additional 30 min. to get your completion check. Vet's can see difference in times on your card, and if it took your horse 25 min. to
come down, they can look closer, ask more questions, etc. If you take 35 min. you get to skip the completion check and award.
Now for a hypothetical question or two:
If my horse pulses down right away and my horse still has a problem that I'm unaware of, will the horse typically show symptoms sooner rather than later? Like colic in 25 min. vs 55? Either one will get you a DQ with the current rule.
If we have a 30 min. rule and the pulse hangs for 25 min., the horse then will in essence pass the final vet check, but does this not show the same thing as a horse that hangs for 45 min. and then passes the final vet check? Something is wrong for both horses but either rule will still get a completion at the final vet check. (Assuming the hanging pulse is all that is seen.)
So, in the above two scenarios' how has
the new rule helped the horse? If the new rule is to discourage racing, wouldn't we just want to change the finish to match the LD rules? (Don't everyone jump down my throats here people, just asking the questions!! :) If it's the "back of the pack" horses that are having the highest rate of hanging pulses, then what? If the new rule is to discourage racing horses that aren't prepared, then how do we address the tailenders that are taking 35 min. to pulse down?
More food for thought!
heidi larson
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