Re: Rattlesnake Ridge ride - heat and humidity! (kind of long)

[rides2far@juno.com (Angela C. McGhee)]

>Was the ice water dumped only over the head, neck, chest, etc. or even 
>over
>the  rump?

Remember, they did their research for the benefit of 3-day eventers that
go almost all out for a few miles...and are big muscular horses.  The
lecture I sat through, the vet didn't even want to say some of the
temperatures those horses had come in at out loud for fear of animal
rights types.

I don't believe we have any business getting a horse THAT HOT Southeast
humidity or not.  

I have watched the Rojeks who seem to be as serious as anybody I've seen
about cooling a horse.  Their "Hawk" horse is dark colored and fairly
muscular.  I've seen nothing approaching "dumping" of ice water on him.  

At the North American Championships in Arizona, they had a person at each
leg and one on each side of his neck.  Putting water on...taking it off.

At Million Pines Steve had about a dozen dishpans of water, each with its
own sponge. (Facinated EVERYBODY).  He would take a sponge out of
one...swipe the horse, throw it back in its pan and go to the next.  

In my opinion (which has every right to be humble), it's more important
to keep the core temperature down in the first place, than it is to crash
cool at the vet check.  That's why I sponge constantly on the trail.  At
the vet check, I keep putting water on...but the ACT of putting it on
bothers Kaboot just enough to raise his pulse a little.  I sponge
him...so far never with ice water...until he's almost down...then try to
leave him alone to relax and see if he really is down and my sponging is
keeping him above 64. 

When I entered the vet check at Million Pines in about 15 place at the
1st vet check, the vet said Kaboot was the coolest to the touch of any
horse that had come in.  This was partly because as soon as I pass P&R I
get my crew to keep handing sponges over the fence so that I can continue
to cool him in the vet line.  (I don't do this if its making a sloppy
mess out of the vet check area).

I know that if I were running, any water would feel plenty cool.  I'd be
pretty ticked off if someone doused me with ice water...regardless of my
temperature.

Angie and Kaboot (I won't eat, until you stop sponging!)

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