ridecamp@endurance.net: [endurance] Respiration and Cooling

[endurance] Respiration and Cooling

Wendy Milner (wendy@nsmdserv.cnd.hp.com)
Fri, 1 Dec 95 10:17:45 MST

> I went to my ice chest and got a handful of ice, lifted his tail, and
> pushed the ice up his anus. Someone asked the ride vet why I was
> doing that, and the vet said "He's bringing his respiration down."
> They asked if that was legal, and he said "There's no rule against it."
>
> Within a minute, Kahlil's respiration had dropped and we passed the
> check with flying colors, and went on to finish just fine, just as we
> did on a hundred other humid rides.
>
Obviously, you had no problem on this ride, but -

Cooling a horse should usually be done at a slower rate
[New endurance riders take note, don't ice the horse unless
you know what you are doing.]

I've heard of riders using the ice trick before. It just
seems to me that trying to drop the temp so quickly would actualy
cause problems. For example, if you've been running, come in and
dump cold water on yourself, you are just asking for cramps and other
problems. Why would you be able to ice a horse's innered and not
get some kind of problem.

--
Wendy


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  Wendy Milner                     HPDesk:   wendy_milner@hp4000
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