Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Maryanne,
   I agree with you that all of the pressure that was put on this 
company by the LongRiders, horse welfare groups, and individuals like us 
from around the world definitely made a difference in creating 
"possible" better results of this race. I say "possible", because even 
the riders will probably never know what happened to the horses that 
they had left behind at the urtuus then grabbed another one and were 
immediately off again. I don't believe for a second that the 
Adventurists will voluntarily admit to any horse fatalities or even 
injuries or lameness. The company leaves a general bad taste in my mouth 
too. They were dishonest about this event from the beginning when they 
stated on their site and to their benefactors that the American NGO, 
VetNet, were currently working with them to choose, give preliminary vet 
exams, and would be supplying all the vet care for the horses before, 
throughout and after the ride. They were caught in the flat out LIE when 
VetNet was contacted by the LongRiders and the NGO gave a public 
statement that they didn't even KNOW about this race and were not in ANY 
way associated with it nor were supplying ANY vet care for it. Talk 
about sending up a "red flag"!
   If it had not been for the pressure put on the Adventurists by all 
the opposition about providing qualified and adequate vet care for the 
horses, the vets that they were then forced to pull out of their butts 
and hire from other countries, would not have even been there. I'm GLAD 
I spoke up and added my voice to the others who put pressure on this 
group if by doing so helped even ONE horse of the 700 in this race, 
receive better care and oversite than if we had not spoken up and forced 
the veterinary care issue at all. There is a difference between just 
wanting to "stir the pot" to cause trouble and actually intending to 
create positive change and compassion for the innocent and sentient 
beings we profess to love and care about so much. It should be implicit 
that it is our responsibility to protect any being that has the ability 
to perceive pain that we may inflict on it due to our own agenda.
   By keeping the whole ride route, urtuu locations and GPS coordinates 
shrouded in secrecy to everyone except their own media team, it was 
clearly intended to keep outside media from capturing any stories, film 
footage or pictures of any terrible mishaps that might have happened on 
the trail or document the outcome of the horses. Any organization 
promoting an event intended to raise funds for charity would NORMALLY 
try and DRAW as much attention and media coverage to the event as 
possible so they could raise more funds, NOT keep all media away. The 
ride location, distance and unique challenges certainly are a draw for 
me as an adrenaline junkie and distance rider myself. It is a ride that 
I still think could be tweaked and made into an incredible international 
endurance ride for those of us who have been brought into this sport 
with the focus of the welfare of the horse being priority. I am still 
waiting for the endurance ride from coast to coast across Africa to come 
to fruition before I am too old to ride it. I can't help but feel that 
the criteria that the top equine veterinarians in the world have 
researched and decided are in the best interest of the horse are worth 
adhering to. That includes conditioning, hoof care and protection, 
parasite control, nutrition, soundness and regular vet checks whether it 
is in a "race" or a two year mosey across the country. No, the Mongol 
Derby was NOT a sanctioned endurance ride of any kind and the 
Adventurists really didn't HAVE to supply ANY vet care at all by any 
International nor Mongolian law. How they ran a PRIVATE race was not 
anyones business other than the Mongolians seeing as how it was their 
country and their horses. I still believe that we need to think globally 
and act morally when it comes to the beings that we share this planet 
with. Whenever we can speak up and ACT to prevent abuse or neglect of 
any being, then we should.
Melissa Margetts

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