Re: What vet checks are for (was:Completion times)

[Terry Woolley Howe <cancer@inetworld.net>]

K S Swigart wrote:
> 
> On Fri, 16 Jan 1998, Kathy Myers wrote:
> 
> > I used to think hold times should not be included in
> > total time, but I've changed my mind.  I think they
> > should continue to be included in the total time
> > allowed.  And I think that 6, 12, and 24 hours are
> > good values for 25, 50, and 100 miles respectively.
> 
> I not only think that they should be included in the total time allowed, I
> think they should be included in the ride time published as part of the
> official results.
> 
> _I_ would like to dispel the notion that we have vet checks at endurance
> rides so that horses can rest.  This assumes that ride managers and/or
> vets are responsible for resting our horses.  As far as I am concerned,
> vet checks are so that the vets can inspect the horses to confirm that
> they are "fit to continue."
> 

Yes, it is the responsibility of the riders to see that their horses
gets enough rest during the competition based on their fitness level,
but from a realistic point of view, very few riders who are in a
competitive mode will stop along the trail to rest their horse during
the competition unless their horse is experiencing a problem. 

From my perspective the vet checks are to allow the horses to be checked
by the vets to determine if they are fit to continue, AND to give the
horse a break where there is water and, often times, hay, grain and
carrots for the horses.   


> The vet check was not where it was so the horses could best rest.  It
> was at the TOP of a hill.  As far as I am concerned, going down hill is
> almost as good as resting, so resting just before you start down hill is
> not the best place to make horses rest.  The vet check was where it was
> so that the vets could check to see that going up the hill did not take
> too much out of the horse (I also think that accessibility might have
> had something to do with it).
> 

The location of the vet checks is most often determined by
accessibility.  But whether the rest for the horse is at the middle of a
climb, or just before a downhill, the horse is still going to benefit
from the rest.

> However, all horses DO get to rest at vet checks (different horses reap
> different benefits from this rest time, true but unavoidable); therefore,
> hold time should be considered part of ride time...and as far as I am
> concerned, should be reported as such.  I believe that it is total elapsed
> time that ought to be reported in official results so that we can dispense
> with this myth entirely that it is taking less than the total elapsed time
> to cover the course. 

I would prefer the ride time only be listed, since that gives the reader
the knowledge of how tough the course is by seeing the riding time,
rather than trying to guess how much of that was hold time if the
elapsed time were given.

Terry Woolley Howe