I see a different AERC than you are describing, Truman, with your
misleading quote: "Oh, if your horse goes down - don't worry we'll
just plug him in to an IV."
That is not the message being sent, nor it's intent, and you are well
aware of that. I see an AERC that says: "We care enough about your
horse that we certify our head vets. We have educational materials
galore, available on our website and in our Endurance News publication
regarding the safe conditioning and campaigning of the endurance horse,
as well as veterinary articles and newsletters addressing common health
concerns. We require our vets to inspect your horse before, throughout
and after every ride to assure his continuing health and safety.We
will not sanction a ride that does not require these inspections to be
done. Our vets are prepared to offer heroic life saving
treatment when emergent situations arise, and we advocate early
treament to all our members when those unfortunate circumstances
present themselves, for whatever reason. Our motto is "To Finish
is to Win," and we are a peculiar sport in that while endurance riding
is a timed event, we encourage conservative riding, long, high mileage
careers, and offer coveted Turtle Awards, all in the interest of the
welfare of the horse. We have rules against animal abuse, with a fully
developed Protest and Grievance committee to rule on protests against
abuse and mete out appropriate punishment for offenders. We have our
Veterinary Committee investigate and report on every horse death that
occurs at or as a result of a ride, and our Welfare of the Horse
Committee attempts to gather and collate as much useful information as
possible and make it available to our constituency. Our most coveted
award is the Best Condition award, which focuses primarily on good
horsemanship and riding within the healthy parameters of the horse. We
recognize that horse deaths most often offer a degree of mystery, and
we provide funding for post-mortem studies to turn each tragic death
into a learning opportunity so that other horses and riders do not
suffer the same fate."
I could go on, but clearly, AERC is not conveying the flippancy
contained in the your sentence above, Truman. Bruce Weary
