I've been reading the Aussie's endurance rule books. They have their
rules broken down, on line, into Horse, Rider and Member Categories. The
following is what they have put down in writing, concerning Horse Welfare, from
their Horse Handbook:
H.2. HORSE WELFARE 2.1. The AERA Inc. adopts the following horse welfare
Code of Conduct to promote the well-being of horses: a) The needs of the
horse are paramount. b) The well-being of the horse is above the demands of
riders, owners, sponsors, breeders, ride organisers and officials. c) All
veterinary inspections and treatments must ensure the health and welfare of the
horse. d) The highest standards of nutrition, health, sanitation, and safety
shall be encouraged and maintained at all times. e) Adequate provision must
be made for ventilation, feeding, watering and the maintenance of a healthy
environment during transportation. f) Emphasis should be placed on education
in equestrian practice and health. g) In the interest of the horse, the
fitness and competence of the rider shall be regarded as essential. h) All
horse training and riding methods must take into account the horse as a living
entity and will not include any technique considered by the AERA Inc. to be
abusive. i) The AERA Inc. will maintain adequate controls in order that all
persons and bodies under the jurisdiction of the AERA Inc. respect the health
and welfare of the horse. j) National and international rules regarding the
health and welfare of the horse must be adhered to. k) The rules of the AERA
Inc. will be continually reviewed to ensure such horse welfare ensues.
The needs of the horse are paramount; their well-being is above the demands
of riders, owners, sponsors, breeders, ride organizers and officials; all horse
training and riding methods must take into the account the horse as a living
entity and will not include any technique considered to be abusive; adequate
controls will be maintained in order that all persons and bodies respect the
health and welfare of the horse. Beautifully written, well thought
out. Who could possibly ask for more?
Each day this week I will try and paste something from their rules that
might hit home. Right now, I?m trying to understand their use of log
books. They seem to have a log book for the horse and a separate one for
the rider. There is no doubt that they hold the rider strictly accountable
for their actions during a ride. They have a Novice Category, for the
rider (each and every rider must start out in the Novice Category and
successfully complete three rides before moving up to the Endurance Category),
and if too many points (demerits) are accumulated that rider is knocked back
down to the Novice category. Serious infractions are handled
separately. You don't just show up to a ride and are considered an
Endurance Rider. You have to earn that title.
What interests me about the horse log books is accountability. I,
also, have a hypothesis. We now know that we have lost ten horses this
year during endurance competition. I really don't know how many of those
ten deaths were metabolic, or accidental. My hypothesis is, for each one
of those deaths, there are two to three that we do not know about. Horses
that died a day, two days, a week, or even a month after competing in an
endurance ride.
John Parke mentioned this during the meeting at the convention last year
when the Welfare of the Horse Committee became a reality. My contention is
that these Horse Log books, distributed by each Region, will keep track of each
and every endurance horse that has one. Riders will not be able to hide
the fact that their horse died after an endurance ride because the log books
will account for each and every one. I'll try and cover this idea more
thoroughly later.
Please, take the time to review what they have done down under. Yes,
it is a drastic change from where we are now and I realize that it would
completely revamp American endurance, as we now know it, if we were to go in
that direction. The one thing that you might notice, as you go through the
separate rule books, is they do a much better job at accounting; keeping track
of what happens at each and every ride they sanction. Their riders know up
front, from day one, that this is a serious sport and that their actions are
going to be recorded. The good, the bad, and, the ugly.
