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> Am not sure that I agree with this unless we have done specific studies in
> mind.  I  have been at
> two rides where 56 was used (I would not go lower than that).  At one of
> those rides
> out of over 50 starters in a 50 there was only one pull and that was from
> an injury from
> a would from a stick.  The non-Arab breeds had no problem meeting the
> recoveries.
Stagg, I apparently didn't receive the initial post here, but will add my
own experience with pulse rates.  First of all, 60 seems to be a "magic
number" for many horses.  I've seen a great many horses meet a 64 and then
hang there (and yes, I've informally taken exit pulses for years, as I've
done exit exams) but the majority of horses that meet 60 (not all, but most)
tend to continue to recover.  I DO wish that we would strongly encourage
that 60 be the norm for the pulse criterion in most circumstances.

That said--I've also used 56 on at least three occasions--all in the face of
unreasonable heat.  I found that it made riders cautious, but that in all
three cases, we had NO pulls for non-recovery.  I did not keep specific data
on non-Arab breeds, but found them having no problem meeting the criterion,
either.  If a horse is doing ok, recovery is progressive anyway--ie the
pulse continues to drop toward normal.  It is when recovery ceases to be
progressive that one begins to worry.  And personally, I've found the lack
of progressive recovery to be just about as prognostic of impending trouble
if the horse does not either slow down, or rest, or both, as the CRI.

BTW, I started looking consistently at exit pulses after Kerry Ridgway made
a comment that he had observed horses in Australia being at 40 or 44 at the
ends of their holds, and stating that he did not think our American horses
could do that.  I haven't talked to Kerry about the subject since, to see if
he's been doing the same thing (would be interested to know)--but I CAN say
that yes, the majority of our American  horses DO, indeed, recover into the
40's at the longer checks.  And that, to me, is a good sign.

Heidi


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