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Re: [RC] Adios/Metabolic failures@ PAC - Susan GarlinghouseTruman, I agree with your comments re IVs at rides. If the horse needs treatment, fine, but it's no longer Fit to Continue. As for routine IVs as preventative protocol after a ride, I would be concerned that allowing such a safety net would be perceived by some as a free ticket to ride the holy bejesus out of their horse during the event, thinking that a post-ride jug will magically cure all ills. Two, I was taught in no uncertain terms that any venous catheter is going to at best cause some residual scarring in the wall of the jugular vein. At worst, it can cause thrombosis, phlebitis, etc even when correctly placed. Thus, veins should be religiously reserved for truly justified catheter placement such as during a metabolic emergency. Not as a casual replacement for good management and riding practices. During senior rotations, this protocol was so strongly beaten into equine students that we weren't even allowed to use the jugular vein for pre-surgical chem panel blood collections---we had to draw blood from the facial sinus, which is a helluva lot more difficult and a PITA. It wasn't something that was taken lightly, even in horses that might never need another IV catheter their entire life. Susan Garlinghouse, DVM ----- Original Message ----- From: "Truman Prevatt" <tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: "Patti Kuvik" <plwoodbury@xxxxxxx> Cc: "ridecamp" <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, September 29, 2003 8:21 AM Subject: Re: [RC] Adios/Metabolic failures@ PAC 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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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