Re: RC: heart rate - fit to continue criteria

[Tivers@aol.com]

In a message dated 12/21/99 3:39:33 PM Pacific Standard Time, CMKSAGEHIL 
writes:

<< That's where experience comes in.  Scores of good ride vets have hung onto 
horses that just "ADR" (ain't doin' right) and have had them crash in an hour 
or so.  One of the worst crashes I've ever had to deal with was just an "ADR" 
that went critical 3 hours later.  Started to see parameters falling apart an 
hour or so after she pulled.
 
 Science does not yet have all the answers.  Sometimes the rest is an art, in 
real life.  There were many gifted souls who could ascertain that all was not 
well long before we had labs or even had a clue what was going wrong.  Most 
good docs are well versed in the science, but also understand that it doesn't 
provide all the answers and are still willing (and sufficiently gifted) to 
observe their patients for those subtle changes that one just can't quite put 
one's finger on...  And the best riders are sensitive to that, too.
 
 Heidi >>

Well, now we get into sorting out the quacks from the artisans. Just about 
every vet, trainer, shoer and and bloodstock agent  I've ever met has told me 
directly that his experienced eye is far better than the guy's next door. And 
about 95% of them were lying through their teeth. 

And this is where the horseshow aspect comes in. One vet will pass a horse, 
another will fail it, purely on subjective o0bservation, and will justify 
either decision with wholehorsebabble. And proclaim they're saving lives if 
the face a having horse after horse fall down about 10 miles after they've 
been passed. Selective memories serve artisans very well. 

What we need is real, telling, numbers. Mike Foss puts a lot of stock in his 
portable blood analyser. I don't know if he's right, but I'd sure take hios 
judgement over someone who proclaims he was born with the "eye". Met too many 
of them to stomach much more of it. 

ti 


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