Horse death/leaving

[Samm C Bartee <bartesc@mail.auburn.edu>]

Hi Angie, everybody!!  
I am against leaving before a ride too.  Heck, I stay at the ride that is
only 12 miles from my house.  My horses do great at rides, I think they
like being away from home occasionally.  However, if something were wrong,
I would probably, and did one time, opt to travel home with Vet
permission.  That is granted that the horse has had time to rest a good
deal...and me too!!  

Now, for the horse that died at Witch Dance last year:



*Last year, at the Witchdance ride in Mississippi, there was a horse that
*required fluids after the race.  The horse did not look particularly bad,
*but it was treated.  I believe this started at about 3:30 or 4:00 in the
*afternoon. 
The vets tried to get the owner to treat earlier than he actually agreed
to treat.  the horse didn't look bad, but bad enough for the vets to want
to treat.  
The owner didn't think it was that serious either.  he wasn't particularly
worried, and even pulled the cath before the last set of fluids were done.
he has learned a lesson and was KEY in getting someone to treat a horse at
a recent ride.  the horse was acting very much like his did last year.  He
says now that if he even THINKS that there may be a possiblility that a
horse of his needs fluids, he will have it drenched!!!  



*The vets left as soon as the ride was over and before the
*awards.  
The vet stayed there til he thought the horse was out of the woods.
Explained to me about pulling the cath when the fluids were done.  He was
concerned about the horse, but he had another commitment somewhere else.
It was about 4-5 hours after the last horse came across the line when he
left.  We sort of postponed the awards til the horse was done treating, or
that was the idea anyway.  

Folks, I was there helping ride management at this ride. I was not
riding.  Last year I did that as I didn't have a horse that was really
ready to ride.  


*That night, it was very cold, and management went home too.  I
*decided to sleep next to the big campfire in the middle of camp, and was
*awakened at around 2:00 AM by voices.  Looked up to see 2 riders
*discussing this horse who had obviously taken a turn for the worse.  The
*next 2 hrs. were a nightmare.  There was nobody in camp who knew how to
*get hold of a local vet.  No one knew how to get hold of management.

The ride manager lives about 10 miles or a little less from the camp site.
The camp manager lives 100 yards from the entrance to the camp. he would
have known how to get in touch with the RM or with a local vet.  *I* was
in camp, with a cell phone and the ride managers number, but I was not
awakened til the horse was dead and the owner was devastated.   

I know it was hard for everyone. It was hard on me. We were all standing
around crying, not knowing what to do. the vet did arrive later, after the
horse died. Had I been awakened, I could have at least done something, but
no one thought of that.  It's not the fault of anyone...rider, ride
manager, or vets leaving early. IT was just something bad that happened. 



*The backhoe got there before the vet did.  I have never felt so helpless.
The guy with the backhoe is the man who owns the campsite and he lives
right there, that's why he got there quicker.  


* I had seen the horse earlier and it didn't look bad.  It was almost 12
*hrs after the end of the race when the horse went down.  I would have
*thought it had had time to stabilize.
We all, including vet, owner, etc, thought that horse was stable. The
owner heard the horse pacing in the night but didn't get up to check on
him because he thought the horse was doing better and was just wandering
around eating.  The horse broke out of his paddock and that was just
further fuel for this thought.  The owner did all he thought was
necessary, as did the vet.  Again, it was no ones fault. I tend to believe
that the horse had something else going on. This horse was not over
ridden, in fact, when they thought something wasn't right out on the
trail, they slowed way down and came in way slow.  


*sort of situation you would be in if you left.  Had the vets been at the
*camp where they should have been, and the rider loaded up and hit the
*road like so many do, it would have been the same situation...and how
*many vets want to answer a call from a truck stop in the middle of the
*night, for a horse that's dying?  What sort of impression would they have
*of our sport?  
Actually, had the rider gone home, one of the best endurance vets in the
country was right there.  He would have been home in time for that vet to
probably recognize and save the horse...maybe...
Angie, I don't want to sound as though I am picking on you...I really am
not, but this has struck a nerve with me.  I guess because I was smack in
the middle of this, and it has been brought up so many times by several
people, I am a bit defensive about it. 
According to all the rule books, the vet only has to be there 1 hour past
the last horse finishing.   

We have opened some dialogue, or tried to, here in the SE about trying to
get managers to keep a vet that is aware of endurance stuff, either very
close on call, or to keep one at camp. However, there are some rides that
can barely afford to hire the 2 vets that we already require--THE SE has a
2 vet minimum rule--and to require the RM to pay a vet to stay overnight
on Sat would be a shot in the head for some of those rides whre they only
have 20-40 riders.  


I totally agree with Angie about people coming in off the trail, packing
up, bugging RM for awards when the paperwork is not even done yet, and
then they get home and bitch because something went wrong with their horse
later.  
I like the sitting around after a ride on Sat night.  I get to the ride on
Thurs night.  I don't even like travelling on Fri, vetting in, then hoping
hte horse will rest enough.  I like to give them a lot longer to rest and
become accustomed to their surrounds, new water, etc.  
I see way too many people that pull in later in the evening on Fri, vet in
right away, with the horse already dehydrated from a 6 hour trip, and then
they leave right after running for 25-50 miles.  However, I also see many
of the top riders in this region do that and they win ride, after ride,
after ride...when they are riding.  
At the Gee Creek, I was the last trailer to pull out.  I am frequently the
first or in the top five to get to a ride.  and one of the last to leave.  


I'm sorry this got so long. 


samm
Pres. SERA
SE region