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[RC] it's fun & interesting to volunteer! - Glenda R. Snodgrass

I was one of the many volunteers at Blackwater Boogie last weekend, and it was quite a fun learning experience for me. I have volunteered at rides in the past, and done P&R for a few hours at a time, but this was the first time I've worked P&R virtually nonstop from Friday afternoon vet-ins until the last rider finished on Saturday.

I was amazed at how interesting it was, and how much I learned, from the experience of checking nearly every horse in camp at some point, and checking so many of them throughout the entire ride -- before, during and after. It was fascinating for me to watch the progress of these various horses throughout the ride, how they responded to the stress and recovered from it, comparing their body language and attitudes at different points in the ride (and comparing those with the body language and attitudes of their riders too! LOL).

Even listening to the different sounds of different heartbeats was pretty amazing. One horse in particular comes to mind, a very well-conditioned horse that routinely carries a very large man (I was told that this rider is 350# with tack though I don't know that for sure, but he's a really really tall guy and well-proportioned for his size). I checked the HR for this horse's vet-in on Friday afternoon, when it was hard to hear many horses' heartbeats because they were so calm, but this horse's heart honestly sounded like a bell, resonating throughout his entire body when it beat! Slowly though, I think his HR was 32, but it was incredibly strong.

Anyway, I had a really fun time and learned a lot and I just wanted to remind everyone that it's a good thing to volunteer from time to time, not only for the good of the riders but for your own good too! :)


Glenda R. Snodgrass
AERC #M18819
SE Region

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