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Re: [RC] OD meeting - Joe LongNormanjudyv@xxxxxxx wrote:*/Considering the Biltmore & the OD are so notoriously hot most years, the possibility of serious consequence to the horse is always there. What vet would want to be the one to pass a horse that,s not doing well. Some folks from other regions have always had it in for the OD for being to strick. It,s a difficult trail in any kind of weather. Everytime a horse dies, everyone is screaming PROTECT THE HORSE!!!!! Well that,s what they trying to do til it gets in the way of your personal goals then the vets are the bad guys.... This is an example of one of the things we have to guard against in our sport. Most of us want to protect the horse, but all too often some new idea or policy is proposed or tried to "protect the horse" that doesn't actually protect any horses. Often they sound good in principle but don't work in practice. And sure enough, if someone speaks out against it someone else will slander them as not caring about horse welfare. A "two strikes" policy for passing the pulse check does not protect horses in any way, at all. Not one bit. It may make things a little easier for ride management, at the expense of the riders. It is the job of the vet to evaluate the condition of the horse, and advise the rider (and pull a horse if it is necessary). Disqualifying a horse for not making pulse in two presentations, without even seeing the vet, is an extremely poor substitute for a vet's exam and judgment. No one here said that the vets are the bad guys. We don't even know who came up with "two strikes" but I'd guess it wasn't the vets, but ride management. If we don't speak up when something like this first gets started, it gets entrenched and difficult to rescind. "Hey, two first-rate rides are doing it, it must be good, we'll do it too." We need to speak up and stop well-meaning but misguided practices from spreading.
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