If the standard at the finish of a ride is "fit to
continue" then shouldn't the horses have to meet all the same criteria
in the same allotted time as has been at the other vet checks?
The finish line is NOT a vet check. It is different in several
critical ways: it is where the race ends, it is where the order of
finish is determined, and most importantly, horses are done when they
get there, they are not leaving camp and going on down the trail.
Horses aren't pulled at vet checks if they don't recover in 30 minutes
because all such horse are unfit to continue. The 30-minute cutoff at
vet checks is predictive, and for safety. It is done because a horse
taking longer than 30 minutes to recover is LIKELY to get into
metabolic distress if subjected to additional stress, and if he goes on
that would happen out on the trial far from a vet. So we take the
precaution of not subjecting them to that risk.
We do not, and should not, pull every horse at the finish because SOME
of them would become unfit to continue five or ten miles further on.
If the 30-minute recovery is implemented, some horses that are fit to
continue and have earned a completion will be disqualified because of
it. I don't think that's right, do you?
The horses have to pass a complete vet exam, which looks at much more
than just pulse, to complete the ride. That exam tells us much more
reliably if a horse is fit to continue. We don't NEED a 30-minute
cutoff to disqualify horses that are not fit to continue.
