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I would be interested in hearing the different rationales behind the  
two approaches.  I have to say that the SE method seems more  
efficient than the FEI method.  I imagine that not all rides can  
afford radios, though -- how does that work, exactly?  Why no water  
in the P&R area?

At our local rides here (PS), we don't have PR "gates" at all -- the  
P&R people circulate around (hay and water are available), and a  
rider yells for "P&R" when they are ready.   I would guess that, on  
average, a rider doesn't have to wait more than a minute or two for a  
P&R person to come free during the really peak times.  We do use  
slips of paper to record the time the horse reaches criteria, and  
what the heart rate was.   The vet area does not (usually) have food  
or water, for the simple reason the horses are not there very long,  
and hay sitting around the trot-out area is a distraction to the  
horse.  :)   The vet **does** check the heart rate, but that is more  
of a safety check.  Riders can use their hold time to wait for a vet,  
and sometimes those vet lines are pretty long (2 or 3 vets, 20  
riders...do the math).

If the vets were required to take the heart rate for you to reach  
criteria, I think we would have a lot of cranky riders.

On Aug 28, 2007, at 11:43 AM, rides2far@xxxxxxxx wrote:

> > The pulse time was recorded when a horse went in through the vet
> > gate to see the veterinarians, before the heartrate was ever taken.
> > This is very different from the standard AERC ride, where the
> > riders have to wait for their pulse time to be recorded until after
> > a P&R volunteer can be located and the heartrate can be counted.
>
> Actually, the pulse time has been recorded when you passed into the  
> gate in the SE for *many* years. I found the FEI method to be far  
> inferior to what we had perfected through the years...their attempt  
> to copy but determined they would automatically be "better". The  
> idea that a vet *had* to take the pulse made it possible for the  
> horse's pulse to climb standing in the blazing sun waiting for a  
> vet to come available, and the vet was a 20 yard walk from the  
> gate. With our method you would pass the line, have the pulse taken  
> right there almost immediately, then you could wait patiently for a  
> vet knowing you'd already made criteria which was important since  
> they also have the "no water in the P&R area rule. You also feel  
> free to let your horse eat while waiting having already made  
> criteria. Then they added the stupid 2 strikes you're pulled  to  
> make it worse. The strips of timer paper slowed things down as P&R  
> people had to try and scribble on them...more stuff to keep up  
> with...while we have radios that convey the info ahead in a much  
> more efficient manner.  This system may be the final straw that  
> makes me start avoiding any duel sanctioned rides. I have talked to  
> a head vet at one of these rides who admitted that they too hated  
> this system of having the vets take the pulse for making criteria.
>
> Angie
>
>
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