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Re: [RC] 1/2 or 1 hour hold - Diane Trefethen

sbolinge@xxxxxxx wrote:
If the standard at the finish of a ride is "fit to continue" then shouldn't the horses have to meet all the same criteria in the same _allotted time_ as has been at the other vet checks?

"Fit to continue" refers to the over all condition of the horse. If a horse has good impulsion, hydration, gut sounds, etc., that horse certainly looks "fit to continue". Now add that his heart rate hasn't dropped to the criterion of the day. If the horse has just come in off the trail, no one would worry. If the horse has been in for 20 mins, they still wouldn't say, "That horse isn't fit to continue". If the horse's pulse dropped to criterion at 40 mins and you first saw it at 45 mins, YOU wouldn't say, "That horse isn't fit to continue". Nor would a vet.


For the following, keep in mind that the criterion for heart rate varies from ride to ride. At one ride, the criterion may be 60bpm while at a ride 200 miles away being held under similar conditions, the head vet may deem 68bpm as acceptable, or the other ride might be FEI which uses 64bpm.

It is true that the probability of a horse crashing doesn't change because the horse is in a vet check vs at the finish line, but the logistics do. Once on trail, there can be a significant time delay in getting help to it should it crash, or the horse may be completely inaccessible. Either case might require euthanasia on the trail. However, if the horse is in camp and the vets are easily accessible, a delay in getting help is no longer a factor.

Thus a horse that has a 5% chance of crashing, as evidenced *ONLY* by its pulse not dropping to 60bpm in 30 minutes, will not be allowed back out on the trail in case it turns out to be one of the 5%. Remember this means that 95% of such horses are NOT about to crash but they all get dq'd anyway. And remember that those same horses might well have pulsed and been allowed to continue if they were at that other ride instead of the 60bpm one. In other words, for those horses, they have been dq'd by a rule, not their own condition or whether they were truly "fit to continue". Why do we allow what seems such an unfair situation, dq'ing 95 fit horses out of 100? Because the danger to the other 5 is so great... on the trail.

That danger does not exist back in camp. Now the shoe is on the other proverbial foot. Why should we dq 100 horses when only 5 will need treatment? That is 95 disappointed riders who spent roughly $19,000.00 to get a dq when their horses were not in any difficulty vs 5 horses that may need no more than a shot of banamine. So is 30 minutes reasonable? To save 5 horses from the possibility of dying out on the trail, yes, we can make a case for that. But in camp?


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Replies
[RC] 1/2 or 1 hour hold, sbolinge