RE: [RC] 30 vs 60 minutes at finish? - David LeBlanc
Only ride I’ve encountered where it was a very long way from the finish to the final vetting had an interesting system – they pulsed you down at the finish, and then you went into camp (~1 mile) to get the full completion exam. I’m not saying that would work for all such situations, but it worked OK for that one. There were roads and stuff between the finish and camp, so people running in wouldn't have been safe.
It was one of my nicer memories - October, ’06 – long, hard ride, we’d just crossed 2000 miles (me and the horse), the stars were coming out, and we walked in nice and slow, just enjoying the evening.
FWIW, I think if I couldn’t get my horse to pulse down in 30 minutes, I’d pull him myself. I’m upset if it takes more than 5-10 minutes. As to making people slow down, I don’t care how fast you go ***if the horse is fit to do it that day***. If it takes > 30 minutes to pulse down, I think the horse probably shouldn’t have gone that fast.
From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Nancy Mitts Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2009 10:24 AM To: stephteeter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: RE: [RC] 30 vs 60 minutes at finish?
Pro: Institutes an objective pull criteria that insulates vet staff from making a subjective "not fit to continue" call and the ensuing arguments and legal threats that may ensue.
Con: Pressure on ride management & staff to meet the obligation can not be stressed enough times. One can not simply "add extra minutes" for distant finish lines, since this does effectively add recovery time.
Con: Horses not meeting pulse recovery within 30 minutes are few & far between. It is the fear of maybe not making it slowing riders down, but only the rider's who care. The same few people who are just barely squeaking by with completions will still do so.
Con: Will not stop the "out of the blue" crashes where horses pass the final exam and crash later.
There is continued confusion as to whether the actual proposed rule would be pulse only or a complete vet exam.
Nancy Mitts
"How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."
-- Abraham Lincoln
> On Sep 25, 2009, at 10:43 AM, stephanie teeter wrote: > > Regarding a potential AERC rule change: from 60 minutes to reach > criteria, to 30 minutes to reach criteria - at the finish > > (these are comments I've heard so far) > > Pro- > 1. standardize rules for EN and LD > 2. standardize re FEI and other countries > 3. disincentivize racing to finish > 4. identify horses with elevated pulses 30 minutes after finish > > Con - > 1. logistical (time) difficulties of dealing with finish line > distanced from vet area > 2. 'hassle' for riders of rushing after the ride > 3. change from norm > 4. encourage over-aggressive cooling to reduce HR more rapidly > 5. encourage RM's to move finish line closer to PR area > > more? > > Steph >
