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[RC] 30 Min Rule - Bruce Weary DCJim Holland has long suggested that the path to compliance and thus greater horse welfare is through punishment. The type of punishment that will drive the point home, embarrass the rider publicly in his chosen hobby, and make him think twice about mis-treating his horse, whether deliberately, or simply through "not reading him" properly, as Jim claims he can do. His proposed rules are as follows:"If John Jones and Dobbin get a metabolic pull, then Dobbin cannot compete in another ride for a month. If Dobbin gets a 2nd metabolic pull, he is done for the year. If John Jones on ANY horse gets 3 metabolic pulls in a ride season, he is done for the rest of that season." His reasoning continues: "If a old "backyard rider" like me can complete 48 out of 60 rides with 19 Top Tens for a total of 2445 miles on four different horses in the heat and humidity of the SE without a metabolic pull, surely the criteria above is not asking too much? It's simply a matter of riding that horse on that trail on that day. If you finish in the Top Ten, fine. If not, you "won by finishing" on a happy healthy horse." He feels the crux of the matter lies here: "The problem occurs when riders cannot properly "read" their horse or when they decide to consciously "move up to the Top Ten" or "ride to win" without regard to whether this is within the capabilities of that horse on that trail on that day. There should be a "penalty" for such action which encourages riders to err on the side of the horse." These proposals may feed our angry need to punish those that bring harm to our horses, but most horse abuse is either out of ignorance or the rider not even being aware that something is amiss until tangible signs present themselves. Jim, you have a respectable record, and are entitled to your opinions. Hypothetically, in light of your recommendations for penalties imposed on a rider with three metabolic pulls in one season, what would you suggest for a rider with, say, three consecutive pulls for lameness on the same horse? Think carefully, as you accomplished this yourself in 2002. Was it abuse, neglect, bad luck, or you just weren't "reading" the horse those three days? And lastly, Jim says: "I have pretty much given up on AERC making any meaningful changes with regard to horse welfare." Relax, Jim. It's okay. You can give up. Really. There are several good people still working on it. It's a bit of a sticky wicket, but we're muddling through. I appreciate the common ground we share regarding the concern for the welfare of our horses. Bruce Weary, Horse Welfare Committee, still on the job =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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