[RC] Vet Scores - Was Moving Up to 50's - Cunningham, Marci
Vet scores are one of the most subjective scores in
endurance riding. I personally don’t worry about trying to get A’s
all through out a ride. As long as I know my horse and am happy about his
or her EDPP (eating, drinking, pooping & peeing) the letter grade on any category
of the vet card isn’t too important to me. Riders get all worried and
stressed about receiving a B in some category. However a B is still a
passing grade in my book and so is a C, as long as I know my horse. Endurance
riding stresses horses and it is unrealistic to expect your horse to maintain A’s
all day. That is not to say that some horses don’t get A’s
all day but in my many miles of endurance riding over 20 years of participating
in this sport the letter grade on my vet card doesn’t worry me or make me
ecstatic. In fact, several years ago, my gelding now with almost 4500
miles, came into a 25 mile lunch check on a 75 mile ride and got all A’s
and them came down with a severe colic attack during the lunch rest.
One of the worst things a new rider can do is to depend on
the vet card scores as the only criteria for how their horse is doing. This
same horse of mine is notorious for getting a C on gut at lunch but I know he
will improve by the end of the day. Any time he finishes a ride with a B
on gut I am happy. This is also the reason that I ride him at the speed
that I do, because if pressed to go faster he may run into problems. I
learned after riding him for a couple of years how he needed to be managed and
it wasn’t a letter on a vet card that taught me, it was learning to read all
the subtle signs that a horse gives you each time you take him to a ride. So
my advice to any new endurance riders out there is to pay attention to your
horse’s EDPP and don’t get worried or stressed if you don’t get
all A’s on the vet card.
