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RE: [RC] state fair express unofficial ride results - heidiHi/low footed horses will not land even and don't have a symmetrical clip-clop, but that doesn't mean they're going to go lame. I agree--but hi/low is an anomaly and should be noted, even if one is not considering pulling the horse. Hi-low horses that have not been corrected still put abnormal and asymmetrical stress on tendons and ligaments, and should be closely watched. In my experience, with good shoeing and management, they do improve over time, but there should always be discussion going on about their progress in the meantime. This discussion makes me think that lameness exams need to be standardized on so that some horses who don't have a perfect way of going are not penalized unless they are truly lame. I wish it were that simple. I once had quite a discussion with Kerry Ridgway, of all people, who was trying to tell the rest of us on the vetting staff at a major ride that a gaited Arab was "symmetrically Grade II lame in both front feet" at check-in. I sat down with him in a quiet moment and asked why he did not penalize the gaited horses there in the same fashion--apparently at that point, he was unaware that Arabs could be gaited as well. And Kerry is a very knowledgeable vet with a good eye! Bottom line--it is hard to standardize things that you can't measure with a ruler or a scale or some other objective form of measurement. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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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