Rules Question

[Trish Dowling <dowling@skyway.usask.ca>]

I would like advice from Ridecamp concerning something that happened at a ride this weekend. In the 50 mile 
race, the riders completed a 25 mile loop twice. There was a 45 minute hold at camp after the first loop. A rider 
who gets easily distracted took off two minutes early from his 45 minute hold with another rider who had been 
cleared to go. The people at the hold were unable to call him back. What should be the penalty for this? I can't find 
it expressely in the rules. Management decision was to add two minutes to his final ride time, which made a 
difference in final placing. I'm really curious as to what the best way to handle this would have been. It never 
dawned on me that anyone would ever leave a check early.

"Proud flesh" is technically termed exuberant granulation tissue. Horses produce it better than other species, but 
everybody does it to some degree. When there is a wound, the body attempts to patch the area with fibrous 
connective tissue and new blood vessels. In the horse, it tends to go overboard on leg wounds, and this fibrous 
tissue, loaded with blood vessels, tends to protrude above the surface of the skin. As long as the tissue is above 
the skin, the new skin cells can't grow in from the edges of the wound and completely heal the defect. I've seen 
masses of proud flesh the size of basketballs on horses' legs in Texas from wire cuts. Luckily, it takes a long time 
for nerves to grow into this tissue. So vets can easily trim off this stuff (without getting their heads kicked off). It 
bleeds profusely, but it isn't really painful. Then when the surface is level with skin surface, the skin cells can finish 
the healing process. To prevent the formation of proud flesh, it's useful to keep the wound wrapped, as pressure 
limits its formation. If a small amount forms, I like to use a wound ointment with a bit of steroid in it. Steroids 
inhibit fibrous tissue and a little bit, like in Panalog, doesn't cause problems with infection. Wonder Dust is copper 
sulfate, which does cauterize tissue like you said. It "burns" back the proud flesh. I find it quite caustic, and 
prefere to prevent proud flesh from forming or attack it with a scapel blade if they come in with it already formed.

Cheers,
Trisha


Trisha Dowling, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVIM & ACVCP
Associate Professor, Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology
Western College of Veterinary Medicine
Saskatoon, SK S7N 5B4
306-966-7359/FAX 306-966-7376