There are those of us who like data and like to analyze data.
For us, even if others feel the data isn’t relevant, ride cards are important. I’m
a retired database admin. ‘Nuff said.
Karen
From:
ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Cunningham, Marci Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2008 10:06 AM To: 'ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx' Subject: [RC] Vet Cards
After
the comments made recently on ridecamp about the return of vet cards by ride
management and how they are used by riders I have to add my two cents worth.
I laugh when I hear comments by riders about how their horse received all
A’s as that can lull a rider into a false sense of security. One of the
few times my gelding got all A’s at the lunch vet check, he went back to the trailer
and coliced. I seldom ever look at the ride card after a vet check but
instead depend on my own evaluation of my horse. Scoring by vets is so
subjective and people get their panties in a wad if their horse gets a B or
even a C. My highest mileage horse seldom if ever gets good scores on gut
sounds and is often a C at lunch. I am more concerned if he is eating,
drinking, pooping and peeing than what a vet gives me as a score. The key
is in knowing what is normal for your own animal. Using a vet card to
evaluate a ride from year to year can be misleading due to all the other
factors including weather that go into a particular day on the trail. I
recently completed a ride that had a 1 plus hour slower finishing time from the
previous year due to weather conditions that were much hotter than last year
over the exact same trail. I am in favor of vets giving just an okay on
the card and every rider should have a stethoscope and know how to use it for
pulse and gut sounds. I am a firm believer that it is the rider’s
responsibility to take care of their horse and that the vets are there to help
everyone get through the ride. Granted there are some idiots that need
the vets to keep them from over riding their horses but the vast majority of
endurance riders care about their horses and don’t want to get them in trouble.
Before costs became prohibitive, many ride managers used to send out ride
results and ride cards to each participant and I have lots of ride cards in my
scrap books, but I recognize them for what they are worth which is only the
paper they are printed on.
Happy
Trails,
Marci
Cunningham in hot Bakersfield
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