I personally know the person that this happened to last
year. This was a seasoned endurance horse, camping in an electric
pen. It was still daylight and the owner was in the camper watching the
horses. Something spooked both horses and unfortunately the one horse ran
into a water container. This was such a freak accident it was really
sad. I suppose a highline or a metal corral might have prevented it.
Hobbles would not as a horse can gallop pretty much full out with them on - I've
seen it.
I am much more concerned with preventable metobolic
issues, than freak accidents that happen in all walks of life. One can
only be so careful before Murphy gets involved.
Thanks. I know there are some out there who may think I'm making
much to-do about something that doesn't happen very often, but, for me, there
is usually some knowledge to be gained by getting all the information that
happened at the ride when a horse dies out there. For others to
learn.
One example is the accident where a horse got loose from a pen, fractured
a leg and had to be euthanized. This should be looked into more
closely. It's the kind of thing that has me up at night and constantly
checking my pen to make sure the horses are still in there. I'm to the
point where I consider hobbling, tying them to a trailer inside a fortified
pen.
There are other examples. No accident should go unnoticed
especially if a horse has to be put down because of a broken bone.
Learning everything might prevent one rider from repeating the mistakes of
others. Heck, let's at least make the attempt to learn from it.
I have one question. Why isn't the Horse Welfare Committee listed
in June's EN? The ball needs to roll on this. The Committee exists
and needs to be listed.
Good post, Howeard. I do find it interesting to
note, though, that deaths due to metabolic failure are those you suggest
are preventable, whereas death due to broken legs/necks from
falling off the trail are an accepted hazard. Are some trails just
too risky for endurance races? What exactly causes these
accidents - are horses stumbling? Spooking? Being run off the
trail? Is rider error at fault (failure to keep safe distance
between horses, failure to watch where they are going)?
Should ride-managers be more careful in planning routes? I ride
some pretty hairy trails, and am no coward when it comes to
technical riding, but I have never 'fallen off' a trail or seen
anyone else do so... it seems to me to be a pretty avoidable hazard
- or is it?
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