I believe the vets would require, as would most
RMs in the CT region, that the horse be evaluated by the vet to see if it were
eligible for a RO code of any sort. Time and distance had passed since the horse
was judged FTC.
Really the Rider Option is just that - it is a
option for the rider to choose. However, if the horse is not fit to continue,
they do not have this option.
Here is a scenario of a RO-M and you can apply it to
RO-L: Horse is vetted through a VC and rider goes out on the
trail. Rider realizes the horse isn't acting just right...very subtle,
but rider knows the horse intimately and realizes there is something
indefinably wrong. Rider returns to the VC (after riding a few miles
out) and pulls. This is RO-M. In order for the code to be either
RO-L, RO-M or RO-SF, the horse must have passed the VC first. If the
rider realizes something isn't right, he or she goes back to the vet and says
something isn't right and pulls voluntarily, that is RO-L, RO-M or
RO-SF.
