In a message dated 4/29/2006 8:57:18 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time,
goppert@xxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Do you know what your own horses recovery times
are?
I know what my horses' recoveries are, and were at each ride I've
done.
Maybe what we're discovering by some of this is what some folks have
always told me, using heart rate and recoveries just aren't that reliable an
indicator of a horse's effort and ability to continue, after all.
Maybe standing up and announcing that pulse criteria will be X and that
horses will be allowed X amount of time to meet the (so called) "criteria" just
doesn't mean that much after all.
Maybe CRI doesn't mean a heckuva lot, either.
I know, I know, it is a number of items that go into determining whether a
horse is "fit to continue" or not.
Maybe the premise on which our vet criteria are based is wrong.
Maybe we should check for soundness and MAYBE gut sounds and leave it at
that.
Maybe the rider should just go to the vet and announce, "I think my horse
is fine, so we are going on."
Or, "I think my horse is done, so we are stopping".
The rider is responsible for the horse and for the ride.
Ultimately, that being the case, why bother with vet checks?
