If we
knew the facts, as facts not hearsay, we would be capable of determining the
seriousness of the matter. I have taken some non-official facts and come to the
conclusion that rider induced horse fatalities constitute one onehundreth of one
percent of all entries in endurance rides. Yes it is not zero but damn low
figure. But then remember we do not have facts just conjecture.
Now,
we can come up a level form dead horses that do not need to be flogged. We can
examine the metabolic pulls. Looking at what data we have gathered that figure
runs about two percent of the entries. good but not bad considering the physical
effort made by the horse. However, the qualifier that must be made. These are
incomplete data as evidenced by actions of certain ride managers and by a cadre
of competitors who decline to admit that a horse may have metabolic problems by
calling it "Rider Option".
Nothing less than non-entry will guarantee a ZERO FIGURE. We can however,
strive towards that figure by having full, accurate information and the
capability to disseminate it to the membership as an educational
factor.
Bob
Bob Morris Morris Endurance Enterprises Boise, ID
-----Original Message----- From:
ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Dot
Wiggins Sent: Monday, February 17, 2003 3:16 PM To: Jeane
Miller Cc: ridecamp Subject: [RC] common
sense
Jeane's post, and Merryben's cover a lot
ground. We should all think about these points.
There will always be an occasional case of
stupidity/carelessness, sometimes by the inexperienced, sometimes even the
experts can have a wreck of some kind.
I think more information can be a good thing, we
can learn from it, but it won't fix everything either.
