We know that many endurance riders are more than
willing to share their knowledge. It would be nice to have a mini version
of the seminar offered on the friday before a ride, right there at
ridecamp. This way it becomes totally convenient for people. Maybe
even require that first timers attend as a prerequisite for the ride.
SDG&E is giving away free trees to promote
conservation of energy. In order to get the trees, you must first attend a
30 minute "tree planting" class. Please...
They are trying to make sure people won't kill their
trees.
It seems that we should require some basic
knowledge regarding the care of the horse before, during, and after a
ride, before people attempt their first ride. Caring for an endurance
horse is a lot different than what other horse people are used
to. Most horse people have never
seen a horse worked to the point of metabolic breakdown. They wouldn't
know what to do, let alone be able to figure out what was going on.
Thanks, Truman, I totally agree with you. One of the
concurrent projects the education committee is working on is a list of
qualified speakers that are available to come talk at clinics, local
meetings or three people meeting for pie and coffee <g>. So
hopefully it will be easier to get more information available for anyone
organizing events on a local level.
As for the day seminar going on the
road, I think the general idea is to see how well this project goes and if
there's enough interest to warrant taking it elsewhere. I think
there's a good chance of getting sponsorship to underwrite a lot of the
costs, so if the interest is there, then it's very feasible to provide it
in other regions. In doing so, I agree with you that it needs to be
tailored for the region and include local talent to provide for the
variabilities of terrain and conditions.
The first step is getting
clear feedback from the endurance community that it's wanted and would be
utilized.
> This is good and a start, but how many new riders
who need this are > going to be in Reno next March unless they live
nearby? Very few I > suspect. One of the big problems is this is a damn
big country and the > model that it can be done on the national level is
not going to be very > effective. There are also some differences that
would need to be > factored in, e.g. in the NW and FL Se supplemention
is probably required > where as in CO the soils are already to high in
it in some places. Then > there is riding in humid climatic zones vs.
riding in semi-arid and arid > climatic zones. > > It needs
to go on the road and it needs to be tailored to the particular > issues
and conditions a new rider is going to normally face in his home >
area. > > Truman > > PS Keep up the good
work. > > Susan Garlinghouse, DVM wrote: > > >This
is by no means a final solution to rider education, especially for >
>newbies, but we all agree that the education is there for those that
want to > >learn. Sometimes just spoon feeding it to them is
what it takes. The AERC > >Education Committee has been
working really hard to come up with new ways to > >educate riders
and one of the projects we're working on is a full day > >seminar on
nutrition and physiology at this next convention in Reno. Lots >
>of explanation of what things can go wrong with your horse during a
ride > >(ie, what tying up or thumping is, etc), ways to recognize it
and prevent > >it, lots of useful everyday stuff on nutrition for
endurance horses, > >including balancing rations, reading feed tags,
buying the best hay for your > >money, etc. Lots of BASIC
stuff, not just fine-tuned things for top > >tenning. Most of
it all boils down to just keeping horses healthy. > > > >The
details haven't been worked out, but the committee is trying
really hard > >to keep the price very low or hopefully free for
AERC members (notice the > >operative word "member"). So if
anyone here knows of someone that is in > >danger of overriding or
doing the wrong thing to their horse through simple >
>ignorance...well, plan on coming to the seminar yourself and drag
them > >along. Kicking and screaming if
necessary.<g> Sometimes all it takes for > >someone to
see the light is to realize that damage can be irreparable and >
>understand the physiology at work. It's not a perfect solution, but
it's a > >start, eh? > > > >Hope to see lots of
you there. :-) > > > >Susan G, DVM >
> > > > > >
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