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RE: [RC] 30 minutes - heidiHeidi, I can only answer from my own experience. One, I don't
think AERC "has information" about this--rides do not submit to AERC the
times that it takes horses to recover. But yes, vets DO see such
horses from time to time--they are not all that common, but they are
out there, and are a cause for concern. As for them requiring
treatment, I've already addressed that question--they don't necessarily
require treatment, but the need for treatment is hardly a "gold
standard" on which to base whether or not there is damage done from the
overriding. I don't know of any stats about horses with slower
recovery requiring treatment, but my observational impression is that
yes, they do. Nonetheless, I'm more concerned about the
overridden horse simply going home and being slow to get over the wear
and tear of the ride. With my own horses, when I have had ones
slow to recover, they are not as bright and chipper coming off the
trailer the next day at home--and that is a HUGE red flag.
As for this having anything to do with FEI--at least for me, the
answer is a resounding NO. It is 100% a horse welfare issue.
The only point where FEI even enters the discussion is as an
example that horses ridden to the razor's edge at FEI events are
expected to meet pulse criteria within 30 minutes--so the argument that
racing precludes a 30-minute recovery doesn't wash.
Certainly there are factors besides a hanging pulse that can
indicate that the horse has been overridden. Does that mean that
we should not address hanging pulses with a shorter recovery time, to
protect at least that segment of overridden horses (or horses that are
otherwise distressed post-ride) whose pulses do not come down?
We are fooling ourselves if we label horses who cannot recover to a
pulse criterion in an expeditious manner as being "fit to
continue."
Heidi
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