I would like to take the time to thank all our veterinarians on behalf of the ride managers in this issue of Endurance News.

The ride veterinarian is an ever-present guide and voice for the horse who is available to us at all AERC-sanctioned rides. Many of us take them for granted, knowing they will help us should a problem arise -- but not really giving them much thought as we are all so busy with our own ride and tending to our horses. We really don't give them much consideration until we need them.

I do not believe most riders realize the sacrifice that our ride veterinarians make in order to come and work our rides.

Veterinarians give up their weekends to vet for us so that we can have fun. If they work a couple of rides a month how many weekends does this person have for their own families or things they enjoy doing? If you are thinking "two," you would more than likely be wrong. Most vets have clinics that they must work at on the other weekends. Many give up their only free time to come to a ride and help us.

So now you are thinking, "Yeah, but they get paid for vetting rides," you may want to think again. They get some money that will help pay for their expenses but they could do so much better in just one of the days if they stayed home and took care of Saturday emergency calls and then still have their day off on Sunday. Most of the time they give up Friday, Saturday and Sunday to come and vet our rides. Just think how many days AERC veterinarians give up to do the vetting of a multiday ride. How many of us would be willing to work at our jobs on our days off in order for someone else to have fun?

Ride veterinarians have been seen sleeping in hammocks in the back of horse trailers, in tents during thunderstorms, on the back seat of a truck, on burlap sheets on lumpy mattresses in dumpy motels and many other uncomfortable places. Many of the vets get poor accommodations at rides only because so many of the rides are located far away from cities. I know many rides have great accommodations too but for every great one there are 10 other rides that are not so great.

Food and drinks are not always the best at many of these rides either. They are sometimes forgotten until late in the day. You'll often find a veterinarian eating cold soup quickly while horses are waiting in line to be vetted. (I hope most ride managers strive to make their ride veterinarians the best-fed vets in the country though.)

In order to make sure our horses are fit to continue, the ride vets have endured the pouring-down rain, sleet, snow, heat, humidity, lack of any shade, mosquitoes, and all sorts of other uncomfortable conditions. On 100-mile rides the veterinarian stays up all night, many times all alone, waiting for the last rider to finish. On many rides the veterinarian is the timer, pulse taker, and vet. Sometimes ride managers expect them to actually "manage" their ride.

When a horse is having problems at a ride, the vets are always there to answer all the questions riders have. They freely advise us when we seek their help. When things don't go the way we plan the vets have been known to save our horses' lives. They also know their limits and send us to equine hospitals when they feel our horses need urgent treatment that cannot be given at a ride site.

It is shameful to see a rider show displeasure toward a veterinarian when the vet deems a horse unfit to continue and pulls the rider's horse. The vets are only doing their job to the best of their ability and skilled knowledge, speaking for the horse when the horse is not necessarily being heard by its rider. Veterinarians do not enjoy disqualifying horses, but do so for the welfare of any horse they feel needs to stop and call it a day.

Most riders and ride managers truly appreciate all that the ride vets do for us but often we neglect to show our gratitude. I hope that anytime you see the veterinarians at a ride you will think of the sacrifice that they are making in order to provide you with a pleasurable ride and show them your appreciation through words as well as actions.