Re: Leaving after ride

[Bill & Dee Fortner <wfortner@peop.tds.net>]

Hi Angela,
	Excellent post.  I agree with your comments 100%.  I for one was guilty of leaving after
awards mainly because I saw so many others leaving and thought I would certainly be all
alone if I stayed.
	I do have one question.  Since the vets are not always there after the awards meeting and
someone lived close enough to go home, would it not be just as easy to call their own vet
and possibly have a better chance of getting him to respond than a strange vet in a strange
town?  I have had the experience where my regular vet was out of town and no other vet would
come for an emergency since I wasn't their regular customer.  They wouldn't even return my
calls.  This was a scarey situation for me and one I can only hope will not happen again.  

Dee

Angela C. McGhee wrote:
> 
> O.K. folks,
> Kinda quiet out there, so I think it may be a good time to mention a
> trend that's been bothering me lately.  It seems that at more and more
> rides, people come in off the trail, pack up and haul home.  I really
> hate this for many reasons.
> 
> First and foremost, I think it is TERRIBLE for the horses.  A horse who
> has just done a long distance ride needs time to wind down, sleep, drink,
> urinate, eat, all the things that trailering discourages.  I have never
> left the ride sight immediately after a ride, and the number one reason
> is that there is a vet on call should anything go wrong.  It's not
> unusual for a horse that looks fine after completion to have some
> problems like colic later on.  Who wants to be hauling down the road in a
> strange part of the country at night, and suddenly need a vet?
> 
> Last year, at the Witchdance ride in Mississippi, there was a horse that
> required fluids after the race.  The horse did not look particularly bad,
> but it was treated.  I believe this started at about 3:30 or 4:00 in the
> afternoon. The vets left as soon as the ride was over and before the
> awards.  That night, it was very cold, and management went home too.  I
> decided to sleep next to the big campfire in the middle of camp, and was
> awakened at around 2:00 AM by voices.  Looked up to see 2 riders
> discussing this horse who had obviously taken a turn for the worse.  The
> next 2 hrs. were a nightmare.  There was nobody in camp who knew how to
> get hold of a local vet.  No one knew how to get hold of management.  The
> owner of the horse left to try and find a vet (in the boonies at 2:00
> A.M.) meanwhile, we sat up and watched the horse go into shock and die.
> The backhoe got there before the vet did.  I have never felt so helpless.
>  I had seen the horse earlier and it didn't look bad.  It was almost 12
> hrs after the end of the race when the horse went down.  I would have
> thought it had had time to stabilize.
> 
> This was not a case of the owner leaving the camp, but it was the same
> sort of situation you would be in if you left.  Had the vets been at the
> camp where they should have been, and the rider loaded up and hit the
> road like so many do, it would have been the same situation...and how
> many vets want to answer a call from a truck stop in the middle of the
> night, for a horse that's dying?  What sort of impression would they have
> of our sport?
> 
> The Saturday night after a ride is when all the great socializing goes
> on.  It is when ride managers enjoy taking their time and handing out
> awards and making the party last a little longer.  As a manager, there is
> nothing more irritating than someone chasing me around wanting me to
> leave my job to give them their T-Shirt so they can leave.
> 
> Naturally there are exceptions.  For instance, a friend had to leave
> early after this last race because his uncle had died and he needed to go
> to the funeral.  He rode conservatively, and it wasn't far home...O.K.
> But, it seems to me that more and more people are simply flying in,
> getting their miles, then rushing home to sleep in their own bed,
> regardless of the dangers.  New people come along, and consider it the
> norm.  Funny thing is, it seems that many who leave, have the most lavish
> camper/trailers.  I guess if you don't like to camp, even a great camper
> isn't as good as home.
> 
> When I was commenting on this phenomenon at the last ride, I heard about
> a horse who won BC last year, left early, and almost died on the drive
> home.  Add to that the dangers of the rider's "adrenaline high" wearing
> off their falling asleep at the wheel, and I think maybe everybody just
> needs to hang around and enjoy a good night of storytelling at the
> campfire before packing up and heading back to the rat race.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Angie McGhee
> 
> _____________________________________________________________________
> You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
> Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
> Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]