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[RC] Need opinions - MarineraMy original question was hypothetical, but some of the responses have been really educational. I particularly refer to Susan Garlinghouse’s when she said “........... you have some issues with blood circulation being shunted away from the digestive tract (at the bottom of the circulatory pecking order). ........ All that blood shunting to muscles and skin surfaces means it's being shunted away from the GI tract, and thus motility is compromised. “ I lost a horse after a ride (which I devote a chapter to in my book). This horse never stopped eating for the entire one hour hold. She left the noon vet check with a full stomach and was asked to go another 25 miles. She passed the midway short hold just fine. She passed the finish line vet check just fine. I think we were around 33rd place out of 65 horses. But she never ate or drank another drop and was euthanized ten hours later because of a ruptured stomach (not intestine) which I am told is fairly rare. I am also told it can run in families and in her case, this was true. I have always felt that if I had rationed her feed at the noon vet check, this would not have happened and Susan’s post sheds some light on it. In my opinion, I compromised the digestive tract by shunting the blood to muscles and skin surface by riding her with an overloaded stomach. Since then, at an hour hold, I would much rather see my horse eat for 20 to 30 minutes and then nap. I know this is not the conventional wisdom, but I throw it out there because Ridecamp is at the moment focused on education and perhaps we can all learn something. Besides Susan, I also pay particular attention to any posts from Kat Swigart and others who seems to very experienced and knowledgeable. Julie =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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