At just one ride in the NW, one mile into the ride, an
out-of-control horse dumped its rider on his head causing concussion (and was
lost for a few hours wandering the desert without his horse), and then several
miles from the first vet check, yet another "green" horse kicked at another
horse but missed, hitting instead the rider, causing compound fractures of her
leg and requiring a medievac helicopter ride. And those were just the
injuries I heard of. It was one of those rides.
You must understand I'm not advocating more rules or
standards. What I'm trying to point out is that there are people at rides
who are quite oblivious to almost anything going on around them or their horses
and these people can become inadvertently dangerous to those around
them.
When I use the term "green", I am referring explicitly
to horses with a sub-standard level of training. This has nothing to do
with age or miles or even if they've been to events. Do they understand
basic cues, will they back, have they been socialized to other horses - all of
your BASIC groundwork.
At their first endurance ride, ALL horses are
"novice" when it comes to endurance, and they may be hard to control, nervous,
excited, etc.. There's a huge difference between that and being green,
IMO.
In reference to Juli's dressage trained horse - he
wasn't green, just not used to endurance, and that can certainly be managed
through different training before the ride, and specific techniques during the
ride.
I definitely don't want to put a green horse into a
situation where his only "support" is other green horses, aka, an LD. I
would put a "novice" horse into an LD...that's my distinction (although I'd
prefer a 50 rather than an LD).
Lastly, it's only a small price if you're the one not
injured. Green horses will appear at every event, regardless of rules and
regulations. What I'm saying is, owners should take conscious
responsibility for getting their horses past the green
stage.
Mike
I can't remember seeing an
injury because of a unruly horse at rides I have been. I am sure there are
some, but I don't think there are many. The worse injury I've seen was when a
dead broke quarter horse spooked at something carrying the flag into the arena
before a local rodeo. It happened to a neighbor girl who after two years is
just getting over the head injuries and she may never fully
recover.
The second most serious injury I've seen happened in a
dressage arena. Now I'm not claiming that there is a problem in these
disciplines because of these accidents. I also think you many have
interpreted Howard's post differently than I did. Not to defend, Howard. No
one should ever be accused of defending Howard. But you have to have at least
met Howard to know form where he comes. You also need to apply a few
correction factors to Howard's comments to get to what he really means.
I think that is what he means. Endurance is a sport with minimal
rules. Many if not most are drawn to it because of this. We don't want rules
that are not there for a specific purpose. It is a sport where people are
responsible for themselves and their horses. It's not a sport where this
responsibility is shifted from the individual to some amorphous body of rules
and stewards running around being important. It is not a sport where "the
dress code police" or the" etiquette police" or the "behavior police" etc. are
there to "make things right." We do have veterinary control for the good of
the horses and to help us better care for our horses, but at the end of the
day the rider is responsible. It's also a sport where anyone with a good
horse can go out and prove it without jumping through a lot of hoops. It's a
sport where the cream can quickly rise to the top instead of being over the
hill when it finally gets there from jumping through a bunch of hoops and
levels and classes to order to get there. It's one of the few organized
equestrian sports where this is true. Endurance is the sport of the
"proletariat." It's the sport of the average man and woman. I think that's one
reason for it's growing popularity. Putting up with a few "greenies" is the
price we pay for our unique sport. I think it's a small price.
Truman
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- Re: [RC] Green Horses, Truman Prevatt
