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Because the 60 minute final pulse down has worked well for several decades, 
we should have a good, VERIFIABLE reason if we want to change it to 30 
minutes.  Anecdotes and hearsay don't cut it.

From the discussion so far, it sounds like the reason is, "We think if 
they had only 30 mins to pulse down instead of 60 mins, all those people 
who race to the finish on tired horses would have to slow down... and 
besides, most horses pulse down in less than 30 mins anyway".  If that is 
the rationale, well, it sucks.  Now if you have statistics showing that a 
significant number of raced-to-the-finish horses who pulse down in 30-60 
mins need treatment in the next 24 hours, or that horses who routinely take 
over 30 mins to pulse down OFTEN disappear from Endurance (die?), then 
THOSE are good reasons.  But just not liking that some people race to the 
finish, because without stats, that is really what we are talking about, 
some people's FEELINGS against racing, that is not a valid reason for 
changing the rule, especially since this change will penalize horses who 
are metabolically stable but just need the extra time to pulse down by the 
time they've finished 50 or more miles.

We have heard from riders who routinely pulse down in 30 mins.  These 
people won't be affected by the rule change.  There are horses who don't 
come down in an hour.  They won't be affected by this rule change.

There are 3 groups who WILL be affected. 1) Horses who have been over 
stressed at the end of the ride and pulse down in 30-60 mins.  2) Horses 
who are metabolically stable and have not been raced but still take 30-60 
mins to pulse down, and 3) Horses whose adrenaline is up (like after a race 
to the finish) and who don't feel the pain yet so they pulse down quickly 
but as soon as the adrenaline starts to wear off, the pain causes their 
heart rates to elevate.

For #3, the sooner they can get the final pulse taken, the more likely they 
are to get a completion.  These horses won't show for BC because by that 
time their pulses will have elevated due to pain (legs, back, what have 
you).  They NEED to get their pulses taken quickly after they finish or 
they won't slide in under the radar.

So the question is, how many of the #1 and #2 horses who take 30-60 mins to 
pulse down ARE IN DANGER and how many are just tired?  If a handful have 
been endangered by their riders and the vast majority are just tired, the 
change is not supportable, especially since the change won't guarantee that 
the stupid riders will slow down but it WILL guarantee that the tired 
horses don't get a completion.

A subsidiary question is whether the change will affect the INDIFFERENT 
racers.  If it won't, then you wind up doing no good for THEIR horses and 
penalizing a whole bunch of riders whose horses are just tired.

One further note on #3.  Another poster mentioned that they liked to get 
their final check in before the horse had a chance to stiffen up.  "Stiffen 
up" CAN be a euphemism for "the adrenaline wore off".  At a Derby Ditch 
ride one year, my horse pulsed down fast and easy and he trotted out sound 
at the first TWO vet checks yet that horse had sustained a serious but 
invisible injury prior to vc #1.  At the second vc I took him back to the 
vets AFTER our hold was almost up and THEN they could see a slight offness. 
 The adrenaline fix is real and covers up a lot of pain while the horse is 
on it.  Because of my personal experiences, IF you want to change this 
rule, I would lobby for requiring a horse to get its final pulse BETWEEN 30 
mins and an hour.  Since any horse who has raced to the finish will be on 
an adrenaline high, by waiting 30 mins you're more likely to catch and dq 
the ones in pain without influencing anyone else.  And after all, isn't it 
the riders of horses who SUFFER from being overridden that you want to 
penalize, not the riders of horses who just ride harder than YOU would or 
on horses not as strong/young/fill-in-the-blank as you own?


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