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Re: RC: responsibility is the owner's,not the vets



In a message dated Fri, 22 Jun 2001  5:04:52 PM Eastern Daylight Time, "Susan Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net> writes:

<< May I ask exactly how much leeway ride vets have in pulling or controlling
horses/riders that they feel are being overridden, even if the normal vet
parameters are being met?  Are their hands tied if the horse's HR is
recovering within criteria?  I'm not just referring to this particular
situation, but in general.>>

Oodles of leeway.  As a ride vet, one can just not like how a horse looks, and insist that he stay an extra time in camp and come back for a recheck, or whatever.  In fact, I think that making horses stay longer at holds is something that is not used nearly enough--but is used to good effect by those who do so.  One problem is that too many vets simply vet the horse through as soon as he pulses down--so they never actually see the horse as it appears before it is just about to go back out.  It's been my experience, as well as that of several others, that treatment rates and crash rates are greatly reduced if, on longer holds, the veterinary exam is not done until midway or more into the hold.  At that point, if the horse is not eating properly, etc., the vet KNOWS about it and can make far more valid judgments and give far more valid advice than when examining the horse that is just in off the trail and is still trying to figure out where his rig/crew/food/buddy/etc. might be.!
  But the bottom line is that th
e vet's decision is final, and if the vet wants to decide that the horse is not going on because the vet has a "gut feeling" about it, so be it.  (Usually there is something to back up that gut feeling, though.)  And MANY times, the choice becomes quite clear, one way or the other, if you just hold the "iffy" horse an extra half an hour.  Nine times out of ten, he will either come around and look great, or show some definite indicator that he shouldn't be going out anyhow.  Can't tell you how many times I've had RIDERS decide not to go on, after that extra half an hour, because something about the horse becomes obvious to THEM that was not obvious earlier.  And how many have thanked me, because they weren't out on the trail when the signs became more obvious that the horse should not go on.

Heidi



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