Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Six horses died this year at AERC rides?

Liz Henry liz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I heard that six horses died this year during AERC sanctioned rides. I know
of one, during Tevis, fell off the trail. Incidently, I and two others hiked
down there a few days after Tevis. We needed to know if the trail was the
cause so we could fix/improve it. It definitely was not. In any case, I'd
like to know about the cirmumstances of the other 5 horses' deaths. We might
all be able to learn something from these very sad situations.

It is always sad to lose a horse, and I don't mean to make light of the
deaths of these horses in any way.  However, having been familiar with the
show world as well, my first reaction to the above is:  "WOW, only six!  We
must be doing something RIGHT!"  It seems like every year there are shows
where that many die at ONE SHOW.  The unhealthiest lifestyle I can imagine
for a horse is being kept sedentary, confined to a stall, and pumped full of
all sorts of groceries in order to get fat.  Having worked a great deal of
my professional life on farms oriented toward showing, the health risks
there (often crippling, if not fatal) are far worse than in our sport.  It
is such a relief to go vet endurance rides after being out working with show
horses, and get to deal with FIT horses, who for the most part have owners
relatively well educated (or at least striving to be) about horse health.  I
would also point out that horses die at home in the pasture, as well as from
accidents in everyday life that are not much different from the death on the
Tevis trail.  I've lost four horses myself in 30+ years due to
fractures--one who was just up playing on a hillside, one who had elk tear
the fence down and spook several mares out of their pasture and over a
cattle guard, one yearling who spooked in a corral and collided with a
fence, and one foal who was at someone else's ranch and was put in with a
group of strange horses.  Accidents happen.  As a ride vet, I've had the
misfortune to witness a few horse deaths over the years as well--some were
accidents (can think of five fractures off the top of my head), and several
were due to pre-existing conditions that were merely brought to a head by
going for a ride that day (two abdominal tumors that ruptured, one aneurysm
that ruptured, off the top of my head).  We've learned a lot about metabolic
difficulties and how to head them off before they become life-threatening,
and we are thankfully still learning.  However, the very fact that deaths at
rides are so rare that those I've seen over the years stand out so clearly
to me is noteworthy--it is not something one expects when one goes to an
endurance ride.  (Consider that the handful I've seen have been over 30
years, with over 250 rides as a ride vet, 5000-some-odd miles as a rider,
and several rides as a ride manager--REALLY not common to see horses die at
rides at all!)  Your last sentence, however, is precisely why AERC requests
death reports from ride veterinarians whenever there IS a fatality.  We
always hope to learn from what happens, in hopes of being able to perhaps
recognize a bad situation developing in the future before it goes on to
become irreversible.  From what I've observed over 30 years in this sport,
though, is that it would appear that horses are only marginally more at risk
participating in endurance than they are just being home in the pasture, and
what they gain in terms of fitness and health is well worth it.

Personally, as a breeder, I'd be happiest if ALL of our horses went to
serious endurance riders--they are, for the most part, the best and caring
owners I've encountered in a lifetime with horses, and as a group tend to
have some of the healthiest horses I've ever had the privilege to know.

Heidi


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