RE: Dead Horse at NASTR

["Marci Cunningham" <mcunningham@calcot.com>]

I always like to hear Dave Nicholson's ride meeting speeches at the rides he
vets.  He places responsibility for the horse's welfare directly in the
hands of the rider.  The following is a direct quote from Linda's post.

"From what I understand this was the horse's first
race, the mare was galloped the entire way, at the last vet check
the vet told the rider to walk her horse all the way in, however,
her "coach" overruled her and told her to keep her moving."

Please note that the vet told the rider to walk her horse ALL THE WAY IN.  I
have been to rides where the same instructions were given to a rider and
when the rider thought he was out of sight from the vet he trotted and
cantered in.  When this was reported to the vet he refused to give a
completion to that horse.  This was a horse that could have passed a final
vet check, but I say hooray to that vet for sticking to his guns.  (And I
knew the horse and rider this happened to.)  It would be nice to second
guess the vets and have lots of 'what ifs' and 'could have beens', but it
all comes down to the fact that the rider holds the well being of the horse
in his or her hands and bears the ultimate responsibility if something
happens to that horse.

BTW, NASTR stands for Nevada All State Trail Riders.

Happy Trails,
Marci Cunningham
Bakersfield CA