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If you can't find the grade explanations, I will have a look and see if I
can. Basically, A is normal and good, deteriorating down to D which is
dangerous. I suspect that as vets becomes more familiar with the huge range
that is normal, they are more comfortable to differentiate between horses.
>I am of the opinion that a horse should be able to make it through a ride
>with scores of A & B, as, indeed, if it does not then it is not
>sufficiently conditioned or has been over ridden. I do not want to push
>my horse to the "C" stage as that is, indeed, an indication of impending
>shutdown.
I agree that the aim should be to keep metabolic parameters as close to
normal throughout the ride. While the horse should be ridden "to the
conditions", sometimes these are sufficiently different to what the horse is
used to, to increase the work load etc, even if a rider is being as careful
as possible. I would not condemn a rider on the basis of one C grade in
amongst As, but rather take the whole picture and advise on appropriate
management.
>There are some horses (which you have discovered with Hal), however, that
>are consistently "deficient" in one particular area, which may be normal
>for that horse, but would be an indication of difficulty with a different
>horse. Which may mean that some horses will never get all A's. To which
>the rider should say, "so what, it is what is normal for my horse."
Gut sounds are probably the most common area where some horses never seem to
make A, and as you say, it means knowing what is normal for your horse, and
being able to manage that accordingly.
A point I always find interesting is that the horses often look better at
the end of a 100 miles than they did at the 2nd or 3rd check. Anyone got any
ideas on this?
Anne
Western Australia
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