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Re: [RC] Horse deaths and preventing treatments - Bette Lamore

Wonderful post, Linda!!!!
Bette, who wants her offspring to go to riders who are more concerned about their horses than their miles and times
Linda Hedgpeth wrote:
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 5:01 PM

Subject: [RC] [Guest] Horse deaths and preventing treatments
Arthur B. King DVM arthur.king@xxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:arthur.king@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Horses need to be examined at
least every 15 miles and have at least 90 minutes of hold in a 50
mile ride
and 3 hours in a 100 mile ride. there are rides where there are too few
vets, they check the horses too few times and when they do check
them they
only do a half assed job of it. That has got to change!


    Rules - no more than 15 miles between vet checks.
    At least three vet checks in a 50 and at least 6 in a 100 mile ride. At
    least 90 minutes of hold time (3 - 30 minute holds) in a 50 mile
    ride and 3
    hours in a 100 mile ride. The holds can be shorter towards the end
    of a 100
    if they are longer near the first part of the ride.

It is not rocket science. Gaykle Ecker's research showed that horses
need
to rest every 15 miles at least and that losses occur early in the
ride so
you need rest stops early in the ride.
Every ride where horses die or require extensive treatment has had
one or
more loops in excess of 15 miles and fewer than three checks per 50/6
checks per 100 miles.
Bingo! Come to NE CA and NW NV...........they regularly have 50
milers here, where the horses only see a vet after 25 miles and then
again at the end of the race. There was talk of change after a mare
died at the NASTR race in 2001.........but it was just talk.


    I am appalled by the horse deaths and the fact that AERC BOD as a
    whole is
    completely ignoring them as evidenced by their silence on the subject,
    failure to respond o enquiries from the membership and failure to
    act in
    any substantive way to prevent these deaths. There were two deaths
    at one
    ride last February and one ride manager has had at least 5 deaths at
    his
    rides over the past few years.

In the spring of 2002 I sent several messages to the AERC Board. While
there are several on the BOD who do want to see some change occur, they
apparently are not in the majority, otherwise there would be some
action.
Their lack of action makes me wonder if the Directors take their
responsibility any more seriously than the corrupt Directors of ENRON.
I protested this mare's death in writing with a check for $100. You know what happened to it????? After I didn't hear anything for
a long time, I inquired and found out.............they lost my
check. If we do nothing, and we don't talk about it, and we don't
act for change, it will go away, right????


Linda


As for the AERC convention, I will have some strong words for the BOD. I have a lot of support from some Directors and some AERC members. We need to stop these deaths before some animal welfare organization shuts us down!!



--
Bette Lamore
Whispering Oaks Arabians
Home of 16.2h TLA Halynov
who lives on through his legacy
Hal's Riverdance!
http://www.arabiansporthorse.com

Always remember: "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." (George Carlin)



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Replies
[RC] Horse deaths and preventing treatments, Linda Hedgpeth