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[RC] Mariposa - Bruce Weary DCHi Dawn--I think you have hit the nail on the head. You wrote what I have been trying to express, and did it better than I could have. I would add another scenario to your menu of situations--that of a rider such as John Crandall who is extremely well prepared and knowledgeable, and rides at competitive speeds most of us only dream of. If he had the misfortune of a horse colicing for whatever reason at a ride where he is competing hard, would he need to be punished? It seems there is a three-way relationship between preparedness, speed and outcomes. They can very greatly, and this is the challenge in proposing new rules, or handing out punishment on a case by case basis. We can't forget that there is significant risk in this sport. Some information now indicates that just transporting the horse to the ride may be one of the single greatest risk factors in increasing the chance of colic. Some people feed a little differently on the road or at camp than they do at home, the horse is confined all night, he works harder than horses in any other sport, and these factors all add up to significant health risk just by being an endurance horse. The risks don't begin at the moment someone decides to race, or when a beginner decides to try our sport. These are already at work and contributing to the stress on the horse. But, I don't think most riders have these risks on their mind as they make their way to camp and begin the preparations for the nest day. If we don't see obvious distress, we assume everything is cool, and we enjoy a beer in our lawn chair. I'm all for protecting the horse, and meteing out punishment for clear abuse. The challenge, as I see it, is to create and enforce rules that don't run the risk of being applied in situations where they create under or over-punishment. Bruce Weary =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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