Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

If you take two simple concepts - "fit to continue" and the AERC drug 
rule which bands
"any invasive procedure" and IV's are invasive as is a stomach tube - 
this says to me that if a horse has to have IV's after the ride he is 
not fit to continue. If you must say he's got his completion now "lets 
go hook him up," they are "not fit to continue."

There are situations where sometime after the horse has finished and 
wound down from the competition where the need might arise to rapidly 
rehydrate the horse so that to prevent the onset of a problem. But IMO 
those should be few and far between.

Yes IV's are routinely given to human athletes in the professional 
ranks, college ranks and even now the high school ranks and some are 
administered at "half time" as someone pointed out they saw during the 
FL vs. Tenn football game so the participant can play the second half.

However, a human has a choice - chooses to be out there and he chooses 
to push himself to the point that he needs an invasive procedure. IMO 
routinely pushing a horse to the point that he needs IV's to recover is 
not "fit to continue" and it is not good horsemanship or within the 
letter of sprint of the AERC rules.

How do others feel.

Truman


Patti Kuvik wrote:

> As a newbie, I don't feel I have any background to contribute here except-
> I worked as a medic at a large international bike race (100 miler). There
> was a large tent set up at the finish line with cots; I would estimate
> 40-50% of the riders came in for their "post-race" IV of one or two litres
> of Lactated Ringers. It was obviously expected and planned for.
> It was also not uncommon to drop a litre or two of LR into our local
> firefighters after working a brush fire line.
> Sure beats a trip to the ER.
> I've also helped my vet hydrate horses at horse shows - and they weren't
> working near as hard as the PAC horses.
> Patti Kuvik
> Vail AZ
>  
>
>  



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