Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

> It worries me a great deal to read that vets may base their decisions on
> what they either perceive or know to be a rider's level of experience
> instead of a professional and unbias analysis of the horse's symptoms.
Well, as Doc Newell said--that's favoritism, and is unacceptable.

That said--there are degrees of everything, and even with an unbiased and
professional analysis of the horse's "symptoms" there are judgment calls.
On the beginning edge of fatigue, there IS room for vets to advise a
different ride strategy (stay here and eat awhile, slow down, etc.) where
there is still the "safety net" of the next vet check, and where if the
rider minds the vet, they are likely to complete with a healthy horse, but
if they don't, they may well not make it past the next check.  There is a
lot of room between the horse that hasn't been anywhere yet and the one that
is over the edge--and that is why we HAVE vets at rides, instead of just
having a robotic "by-the-numbers" system.  It IS a judgment call.

Heidi


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