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[RC] Protecting Our Horses - The Ideas - Stagg NewmanRe Protecting the Welfare of the Horse:THANKS to all who have contributed ideas to this thread. The response has been outstanding and in a very real sense overwhelming (hence too little sleep). There are many excellent ideas! Many ideas were proposed by multiple people so I have synthesized and combined and not tried to identify ideas with particular individuals. The ideas below include ideas from the AERC membership discussion group and direct email to me as well as many ideas given to me in verbal discussions. I have tried to capture in a few words each of the ideas, many of which came with detailed explanations which our stored on my PC for later retrieval. I have not yet added the ideas from Ride Camp that were not also on the AERC discussion group. That will be done shortly. With apologies if I misrepresented any ideas or missed any ideas. Please send me your corrections and additions. First in response to some of the dialog about what the goal and structure should of this effort should be I offer the following goal: Our goal is to further the protection of our horses through a set of actions that eliminate the need for treatment of horses at AERC competitions due to preventable causes. We can better protect our horses through three processes. 1) Gathering information and conducting research related to protecting our horses because "we just don't know enough" 2) Educating riders, crew, ride managers, and veterinarians on better way to care for and protect our horses 3) Changing the in governance or rules of AERC in such a what as to better protect our horses. Here is the initial list of ideas based on discussions and suggestions from many AERC members for the first two categories above. I will separately send out ideas related to category 3. I am intentionally separating the discussion as we can start taking action on many of the ideas in categories 1 and 2 through our own initiative. Category 3, changes in governance is of course where much of the controversy will be, where we need to really to a lot of homework before proposing changes, and where ultimately AERC Board of Directors actions may be necessary. Note this is a brainstorming list so no attempt has been made to critique ideas or eliminate ideas. Please submit additional ideas. At this stage I wish to be as inclusive as possible. There will be plenty of time for critique and winnowing of wheat from chafe later. The next step will be to start evaluating the ideas through membership discussions as well as discussions among AERC committees. 1) Gathering information and conducting research related to protecting our horses because "we just don't know enough" In general carefully collect information on treated horses, so we can understand cause and effect (see subsequent questions in list). Have the ride vet submit information in a format that can be readily analyzed for each treated horse. Have the AERC office make a follow up call to express concern and gather additional information. Then have the vet committee oversee the appropriate analysis. Is the rate of treatment on rides going up, staying the same, or going down year over year? Are some types of rides inherently more risky, i.e. higher treatment rates, higher death rates, than others? What is the correlation between number of holds, length of holds, placement of holds and treatment? What is the correlation between treated horses and pace ridden? Pace ridden to early checkpoints? What is the correlation between treated horses and weather? What is the correlation between treated horses and distance trailered? Recovery time from trailering? What is the correlation if any between rider experience and treated horses? Rider's past record? What is the correlation between the number of rides a horse has done and treatment? What is the correlation between early excitement and treated horses? Can temperature be used as an indicator of how the horse is doing? Is so how? Correlation between surface temperature and core temperature? Is their a correlation between body type and likelihood of treatment? Are horses with less capacity for storage (e.g. narrow waisted horses more likely to get treated? Is their a correlation with horse history (e.g. race track) What is the correlation between feed programs and treatment? Change in feed programs? Does glycogen (carbohydrate) loading increase the risk to our horses? Does the electrolyte program for a horse significantly affect the likelihood of treatment? Does a horses having had ulcers affect he likelihood of treatment? Having been on ulcer mediation? What would studies of horses that continue to compete at a high level over many seasons tell us? Can we compare with horses that have short careers? Can we do a study of the horses in the recent FEI and compare those requiring treatment with those that performed well? Are there blood tests that can be done effectively (time and costs) in real time that would give warning indicators? What are the procedures of ride managers and vets who have rides with high completion rates and minimal pulls? Take blood work at all high profile events before the ride and at holds and post ride. Keep log books on horses to better understand horse history and possible cause and effect. 2) Educating riders, crew, ride managers, and veterinarians on better ways to care for and protect our horses Expand the "Preventing Treatment" one pager into a paragraph or more per line item (via web entries?) Prioritize the preventing treatment list, culling the "top ten" into a separate list Teach riders how to pace including how to use heart monitors to guard against overriding Teach riders better hydration management, before, during, and after a ride. Teach riders how much time they should give their horses to eat and drink, even if that means taking time over and above allocated hold times. Teach riders proper use of electrolytes. Explain carbo-loading including risks. Teach riders how to select horses that have the best chance staying healthy. Teach riders how to do "mini-vet exams" even on trail, including use of CRI, monitoring gut sounds properly, and analyzing progressive recovery. Implement or improve on a variety of way ways to educate (AERC web site, seminars, mentors, EN, annual or even team competitions such as done by PNER that pair experienced and inexperienced riders) and determine which or most effective Teach riders how to use guts sounds and progressive pulse recovery at holds and post-ride to monitor the health of the horse. Use informal seminars at rides before/after ride briefings and award ceremonies to educate riders and crew. Strongly suggest that prospective riders and novices record for veterinarians as way to educate themselves. Have one page handouts of key educational material available at rides for riders and crew Make prior research readily available in an easily understandable form (e.g. results of Dr. Nancy Loving's and others research at ROC, Dr. Gayle Ecker's research on dehydration and pace and effects of hold intervals, etc.) Educate ride managers and vets as well as riders on the value of enough hold time early enough in the ride Encourage more mentoring and self-policing Change the emphasis from winning against the competitors to a test against the trail as the competition including for example changing what is emphasized in Endurance News to put more emphasis on horses with long careers, results of BC, etc. Have riders upon joining AERC or possibly annually write down their intent in the sport to foster awareness of horse welfare and self knowledge. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. 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