When I became chairman of the Veterinary Committee there were many that were not satisfied with the reports on horse fatalities. As the Veterinary Committee is charged with the responsibility of reviewing these, I set out to do what I perceived as a "better job." After I had investigated (for want of a better word) and written up the reports they were sent to the Veterinary Committee for review and comment before sending on to the board of directors. Once reported to the BOD they become a permanent record.

What I perceived as fairly straightforward was met with intense criticism by some. I took all the criticism and tried to evaluate it by my standards. Some of the reports I altered and some I left as originally written but I did not forget the objections. I think all in AERC want fair, unbiased, factual and consistently written reports.

I want all veterinarians involved with endurance to have input on how this is done; consequently, for the five and one-half hour continuing education meeting at this year's annual convention we will have a panel discussion concerning these issues. The format will be as follows:

8:00-9:30 a.m.: Dr. Gary Carlson: interactive discussion to establish national protocol for "What is a reportable death and at what depth do we question a diagnosis?"

- Horses die from a multitude of reasons, i.e., colic, accidents, overriding, stress from trailering, preexisting problems, etc. Some die prior to the competition, some die during the competition, some may die after the competition but at the ride site and others may die from ride-related problems such as laminitis days to weeks after the competition. The purpose of this discussion is to determine a consentaneous opinion on what is proper to report.

- By AERC rules, horse deaths are reportable but at what depth does the veterinary committee question a given diagnosis? Example: Horse dies at ride site shortly after the competition and the report comes back that it died of West Nile Virus. The diagnosis doesn't fit the situation. Another example: Horse is euthanized at a referral facility and during a post mortem examination liver abscesses are found and the diagnosis come back as a preexisting problem--at what extent do we question the stress of the competition contributing to the death?

- Establish forms that will aid the veterinary committee and future veterinary committee members when investigating deaths.

9:30-10:30 a.m.: Dr. Jim Bryant: Interactive discussion to establish national protocol for investigating and reporting equine deaths to AERC.

- The Veterinary Committee is charged with the responsibility of investigating deaths. Discuss format and method to use so all deaths will be treated equal.

- Establish forms that will carry on when committee chairs or committee members change.

10:40 a.m.-12:00 p.m.: Dr. Jeannie Waldron: Interactive discussion to establish national protocol for obtaining quality postmortem examinations.

- AERC has allocated monies to pay for postmortem examinations. It is the desire of the veterinary committee to have non-partial necropsies done. Establish locations in all states where horses can be taken to have this done, i.e., state diagnostic laboratories, veterinary colleges, boarded pathologists, etc. A listing of actual locations will be researched prior to the meeting.

- Establish forms that will aid both ride veterinarians and horse owners as to where this post mortem can be done.

- Establish forms that can accompany the horse to the postmortem facility showing where to send results and where/how to submit statement to receive payment for service.

1:00-2:30 p.m.: Dr. Trisha Dowling: Review national drug testing policy.

- Present current policy and discuss pros and cons with it.

- Present suggested changes.

- Establish new forms if necessary.

While this program may look like a glorified Veterinary Committee meeting, it will accomplish much, much more than having a traditional speaker covering some medical problem in the horse. Because the people that attend this meeting are all keenly interested in long distance riding and serve as head veterinarians and control veterinarians literally all over the world it will not only help formulate procedures but also carry those procedures to a great many other veterinarians.