Re: Vet check question.

["Robert Morris" <bobmorris@rmci.net>]

To All:

With this discussion about P&R people at vet checks I must tell a little
story about what happened to me a number of years ago during an endurance
ride. 

The ride was important to two of us riding that day as it would determine
who would get the regional championship and who would be the runner up. We
both got to the vet check at the same time and both called for a check at
the same time.  We both knew our horses were down to criteria.  My P&R
person ( a man) listened intently and then said that I  could not continue
as my horse was in trouble. I questioned as to cause and was told that if I
continued that the horse would die. As you can imagine I called for the vet
but the vet was busy with a horse in trouble. I listened and could discern
no problem with the heart beat other than it, as usual, skipped a few beats
now and then.
Finally got the vet to listen and everything was ok. The vet asked the P&R
person why the concern and got the explanation that the P&R was a cardiac
specialist (for humans) and a heart like that of my horse was sure to fail
very soon!!!

Anyway I took off at full speed to catch my competition. Ran the last 10
miles faster than it has ever been run and won. Never did see my
competition on the trail, seems that he had pulled up lame a mile out of
the vet check and taken a short cut to camp. 

This experience showed me that even the best of P&R people can be wrong. If
in doubt check for your self 

Bob Morris
Morris Endurance Enterprises
Boise, ID

----------
> From: Susan Evans Garlinghouse <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>
> To: K S Swigart <katswig@deltanet.com>
> Cc: Linda Parrish <lindap@mail.sat.net>; Endurance List
<ridecamp@endurance.net>
> Subject: Re: Vet check question.
> Date: Sunday, May 24, 1998 12:17 PM
> 
> K S Swigart wrote:
> 
> > The last thing in the world I need at an edurance ride is to have a P&R
> > person escorting me to the vet based on a 15 second evaluation.
> > 
> 
> > I have no problem with P&R people writing down on the vet card any
> > odditites that they notice, nor do I have a problem with them telling
the
> > rider about it, providing the rider with information that they may not
> > have because they don't have a stethoscope.  I guess I also wouldn't
mind
> > being asked, "Would you like me to help you find a vet?"
> 
> At the risk of sounding like a "me too", I agree with Kathy---if it were
> the responsibility of the P&R person to decide whether my horse was in
> dire need of a vet RIGHT THAT MINUTE, then they would be a ride vet, not
> a P&R person.  Now, if the P&R person WAS a DVM, then I might be more
> prone to listen, but I have yet to see that at a ride, and as Kathy
> said, the experience level of P&R people can really swing from one
> extreme to another---and even if they are experienced, 15 seconds is not
> enough to make a clear decision on my horse's state of well-being, even
> if it were their place to decide.
> 
> I agree that they can and should write down any abnormalities that they
> feel are present, keeping in mind that between the rider, the ride vet
> and the P&R person, they of the three are the least qualified to say
> whether this is truly something to be alarmed about or not.  And I too
> have no problem with them offering to go fetch a ride vet IF the rider
> wants one and also feels there's something wrong.  But a P&R person
> making unqualified judgements and dragging a horse over to a vet is not
> only not doing their job (which is, as Kathy said, getting the riders
> through the gate, period), they're depriving that horse of his time to
> rest, eat, adjust tack, etc, AND taking their P&R services away from the
> other riders coming in.  I appreciate any volunteer pointing out what
> MAY be a potential problem, but it is NOT their place to decide where
> that horse goes right that minute.  Look at it another way---what if you
> were at a ride, and a by-stander ran up and said they didn't like the
> way your saddle fit, and they were taking your horse over to his truck
> to re-stuff the saddle and put on a different pad.  IMO, same principle,
> but not his job or his right.  Do your job, point out potential problems
> to those who do have the right to make decisions and go on to the next
> horse.
> 
> And absolutely no offense to anyone in another region, but I also agree
> that just because you manage your P&R teams differently does NOT mean
> the rest of us don't care about our horses.
> 
> Just my two cents, of course.
> 
> Susan Garlinghouse
>