Date	Distance	Breed	Sex	Age	Horse Mi.	Rider Mi.	Speed	Stopped	Died	Apparent Cause
March	50	Arabian	G	16	4000	7000	n/a	20 mi.	same	aneurysm
March	30	Arabian	G	7	0	0	n/a	25 mi.	same day	spontaneous fracture
June	50	Arabian	G	12	100	100	n/a	25 mi.	3 days	tie-up/laminitis
June	25	Arabian	G	7	0	100/190	5 mph	finish	1 day	displace bowel
July	50	Arabian	G	14	1100	5000	n/a	---	6 days	colic/laminitis
July	n/a	Arabian	G	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	same day	broken leg
Sept.	50	1/2 Arab	G	7	255/60	360/190	5.5 mph	finish	2 days	colic
Sept.	50	Arabian	G	10	380/25	1440/135	n/a	42 mi.	1 day	colic

In the ride year 2005, there were eight deaths reported at or following AERC rides.

Two were fractures -- one spontaneous and involving the spine, and one caused by a blow to a leg, resulted in the death of two geldings. The horse that was kicked was not entered in a ride, but was present at the ride site, and was included in these statistics in the interest of full clarity and disclosure.

One longtime campaigner suffered what was most likely an aneurysm while walking down the trail, while four colic deaths occurred -Ð two on the day following a ride, one two days later and one leading to laminitis six days after a ride. One horse was euthanized due to complications following myolitis, or tying up. Most of the deaths occurred in the 50-mile distance while two were limited distance entrants. All experience levels were represented from riders with more than 5,000 miles and horses with more than 1,000 miles, along with new riders and horses with no AERC records.

There were 21,000 starts by horses in AERC-sanctioned endurance and limited distance rides in 2005. The loss of eight of our equine partners is far less in percentage than those horses that died in the general population, and a tiny fraction of those lost at race tracks, but still our organization grieves. Our goal in reporting and disclosing these fatalities is to learn and educate to further guard the welfare of our companions on the trail.

The Horse Welfare Committee wishes to extend our heartfelt sympathies to those riders who lost their partners, and to thank them for helping us further our quest for information by sharing their stories.

Laura Hayes, Welfare of the Horse Committee Chair

Return to Top