Virst Vet Inspections
All of the horses are on the premises now, the UAE barn is quite far from ours though so we haven't seen much new activity. The first veterinary inspections are this afternoon, and tomorrow will be final inspections and trot-outs.
At this point there are (around) 90 riders entered, 19 from foreign countries, the rest on-continent. The ride is a CEI*** - not a championship **** ride, since there are no qualifications for the horses. This will be the first 100 for many UAE horses, hoping to get them qualified for the 2004 WEC. This is the only 100 mile (160 km) ride on the UAE calendar, so it's a big deal, especially for qualification.
This morning I spoke at length with Dr. Niranjan, the head veterinarian for the UAE Equestrian Federation. He's helping organize the event - managing veterinary logistics, regulations, preparation, vetting protocol, etc. They are making great efforts to impose very strict vetting criteria on this ride in particular, and on all UAE rides in general. There is a big push to educate the riders, and to eliminate horses BEFORE there are serious metabolic problems, and as soon as there are any lameness issues. Niranjan said that the UAE is very sensitive to the opinion of the world in this matter, and they are become stricter here than in most other countries. The speeds that the horses maintain is so much faster, and the 'edge' so much closer for many of them. He said it's not uncommon for horses to complete the first legs of a ride at 25km per hour (km not miles).
A new ride rule: At this ride the FEI President/Steward will be able to impose a request upon any control veterinarian to have a horse re-presented to a committee of vets if there is any question about the horse. Traditionally there is a re-present and committee review ONLY if the control veterinarian requests one. For this ride, they will use a new rule which allows an official to request a re-present regardless of the judgement of the individual control vet. This is a big deal change since there have been cases where control veterinarians have passed obviously lame horses, or failed horses that should have passed, but the FEI Stewards had no recourse. This new situation is not a new FEI rule, but a rule implemented specifically for this ride.
more later -
Stteph