Tevis Forum 2011

18 ★ TEVIS FORUM 2011 W riting on behalf of the Veteri- nary Committee, welcome to the Western States 100 Mile/One Day Ride experience. And for many of you, I should saywelcome back once again. I know from personal experience how the Tevis seems to become an annual right of passage just like the seasons. I’ve been involved in this wonderful, challenging, tiring, frustrating, satis- fying, inspiring event since the late 1970’s. This year, with massive snow levels in the Sierra, was a particular logistical challenge for ride manage- ment and we all commend the Trail. Committee in their efforts to re-route the Tevis Trail tomeet the original ride date. However, changing the ride date was certainly the right thing to do for both riders and horses. This added time until the new ride date of Octo- ber 8 will give riders and horses even- more time to ready themselves for this challenging trail. The Committee doesn’t foresee the need for any trail changes right now, but the one thing I do know, however, is the ability of our veterinarians to adapt to the situ- ation as needed. We will be at each checkpoint to evaluate your horses and assist you in completing in the best shape possible. Our Veterinary Committee is made up of 15 ride control vets and 2 treatment vets. The cumulative years of experience at Tevis and in our endurance sport are impressive. Just as important is an ability to work with people, with one another on the committee as a team, and with riders as a team. We’re all committed to the welfare of our equine athletes. Mem- bers of our committee hail fromseveral states as well as all the way fromAus- tralia. This is the sixth year of ex- change of veterinarians between the Tevis and the Tom Quilty Gold Cup, Australia’s annual100-mile champi- onship challenge. We are honored to have Dr. James Vowles, the head vet of the 2011 Quilty, join our team this year. Our Dr. Thomas Timmons will join Dr. Vowle’s team to vet the Quilty in September in SouthAustralia. Both of these great rides, as well as the endurance sport in general, can only benefit from the exchange of ideas and methods that occur. Part of our responsibility as veteri- narians within this sport is to continue to educate ourselves professionally in the care and welfare of the horse. We then have the obligation to share that education with all who are involved in our sport. The vet CE meeting at this year ’s AERC convention was particularly enlightening in a number of subjects. First, we must continually remind ourselves about the stress of trailering on our horses. Eating and drinking are completely disrupted. Electrolyte changes occur secondary to sweat- ing from the work of maintaining balance and from nervousness. The muscle enzyme, CK, increases in the blood stream, indicating muscle activity and exertion. Statistics show that the greater the number of hours to transport to a ride, the greater the chance of elimination from the ride. Consider that it will take your horse twice as many hours to recover from the trailer ride and be fully ready to compete as the number of hours it spent in the trailer. Always include the transportation impact when making pre-ride plans. V eterinary P erspective From a by Greg Fellers, DVM • Tevis Head Veterinarian (Continued on page 64) photo by Ron Osborne