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RE: [RC] [PNER] 30 min. vs. 60 min. rule - heidiThe proposed change came from the AERC veterinary committee and the
AERC horse welfare committee. Both committees strongly support
it.
As a longtime ride vet, I strongly support it. Horses that do
not recover to the pulse criterion within 30 minutes tend to be horses
that are at risk.
As an incoming director-at-large, I WOULD support a change that has
been suggested, which is to require the pulse to meet the stated
criterion within half an hour but for the hour to still be available
for the remainder of the exam. But I think that the proposal
even as it stands is a good one with respect to protecting our horses,
and is far superior to our current practice of allowing an hour
post-ride for recovery.
As a long-time ride manager, I see no difficulty in implementing
this change at most rides. Most of the concerns about its
implementation have been about rider convenience--not about horse
welfare.
I would add that just about everywhere else in
the world has gone to a 30-minute limit for pulse recovery post-ride,
and most places require the entire exam within 30 minutes. There
has been criticism of the proposal that it is about "keeping up with
the Joneses"--as if it were being proposed just to keep up with other
countries. This is not the case at all. What IS happening
is that even though we've been at this game a lot longer than most
countries, other countries have been willing to be more open-minded
about making progressive changes to protect horses. We are a
decade behind--and that isn't fair to our horses.
Heidi Smith DVM, DAL-elect
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