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[RC] Dr. Frazier's PAC lecture - terre

I had thought this discussion would be more appropriate after the official report came down from the PAC 2003 Committee, but since ridecamp is (as usual) jumping the gun, and without referring to specifics...
I very much hope that Dr. Frazier was speaking from notes, and would be willing someday to publish his speech.
That said, I think it is a mistake to focus on "pull rates", both at these 'elite' rides and at home. FEI/Championship (type) rides always have a very high pull rate, for a number of reason unique to this level of riding. Pulls can happen for many different reasons at home as well, and they are often not the same reasons. What is probably more valuable is to focus on the rate of METABOLIC pulls, and the rate of these requiring TREATMENT (with the caveat that the 'elite' rides are quicker to treat than domestic rides), and especially the rate REQUIRING aggressive, life-saving treatment.
This forum has (many times!) kicked around the concept of 'passports' and 'qualifications' etc--all implying the keeping of records of pulls. It would, IMO, be more valuable to note how many times a given rider has had a horse TREATED, and perhaps how 'intensive' the treatment was (for example, 1 shot of banamine is not equivalent to 40L of IV fluids--or surgery).
Horses can go lame for many reasons (or sometimes apparently no reason at all!). Horses can become tired, or overheated, or muscle sore and need to give up the ride for that day. A horse that requires treatment is, as I see it, almost always the result of serious rider error (altho exceptions certainly exist, they are not the norm). Where one rider has many treatments on their record, I think somebody needs to look at what that rider is consistently doing wrong. If we find enough of them are doing the SAME thing wrong, we may have made a valuable advance in our sport!
This is, of course, absolutely dependant on the honest reporting of why horses are pulled and what happens to them afterwards. I believe records more than a few years old are suspect--too many ROs for L and M horses. We have never had reliable followup. These are the issues the HWC is attempting to address. It can't be done without the cooperation of all of us.


terre


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