Re: [RC] Pulse - Punishing the non-Arab breeds -- the problem - Heidi Smith
>The probelm is horses get into trouble that are 48, horses get into
trouble that 56/48 at the CRI. Horses get into trouble that have "all A's" on
their card. Horses can get into trouble despite the best intentions of their
ride riding under the best vet in the world.
Certainly, because pulse is
not the only factor in why horses get into trouble. But non-recovery was
one of the major reasons, and it has been one of the easier ones to
control.
To suggest that 2002 was some sort of bumper year
for horse deaths is a sign that you weren't around back in the '70's and early
'80's--when there were far fewer rides, nowhere near the rider numbers, and I
can recall years when there were multiple deaths just in our one region, never
mind the whole country.
JMO, but I think we have pretty well solved the
pulse recovery issue over the years as far as a good level for recovery coming
into holds. What we need to address now is picking up other causes that
lead to horse deaths--and as we've previously discussed, having exit exams
instead of entrance exams allows vets to see what the horse looks like as he is
getting ready to LEAVE the check, not 45 minutes before then when he is still on
a "high" from the trail. This is a good tool for picking up horses whose
gut sounds haven't come back after a rest and a chance to eat, those whose
pulses have not continued to drop (or in some worrisome cases have gone back
up), those who have peed black, etc.--without sending them out on another loop
before their problems are detected. And again, this won't solve everything
either--there will always be the horse whose aneurysm ruptures, or tumor breaks
open, or who steps in a hole and fractures a leg.
No pun intended, but I think we are beating a dead
horse with this pulse discussion. 60 pulses work, and work well. 56
works as an extreme control measure under extreme circumstances. Going
lower for an in-gate pulse is not practical, nor has anyone suggested it.
Now we need to move on and solve other problems that cause horses to
die.
