Perhaps AAEP membership is also voluntary. Their Code of Ethics - C2b - states: “A veterinarian has an ethical responsibility to report suspected animal cruelty and/or abuse.”
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Yes, I saw that. I still think that it should be an immediate suspension.
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That’s the thing that really got me. What a child. Poor horse.
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It is. The only required membership is a license from the jurisdiction in which the veterinarian is practicing. Many vets are members of their state veterinary medical association, the AVMA and/or the AAEP or the state’s Equine Practitioner’s association and those organizations have governing principles and suggested or model rules, but each state’s disciplinary rules are different.
IIRC, and I don’t have my rule book handy, but I do have a pretty good grasp of all the rules 
in Florida, a licensed vet is a mandatory reporter of other veterinarians infractions, and that is particularly clear when it is an impaired practitioner. There is also some situations where a licensee can report animal cruelty or abuse or cooperate with an investigation without being in violation of the requirement that the animal’s medical records are confidential. Additionally, section 828.12(4), Florida Statues provides immunity in criminal and civil actions if a vet does participate in an investigation or makes such a report.
However, Florida does not have an ethical obligation, or perhaps I should say, it is not a specific violation of the disciplinary guidelines to fail to report animal abuse or cruelty. It appears, based on Flightcheck’s comment above, that North Carolina is similar in that their licensees are also not mandatory reporters.
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One of the many things that really need to be changed. Only horses owned by the suspended person are also suspended - a pro can just line up a new rider while they take their vacation. If the horse and owner were suspended as well, people would start to think about who they send their horses to and whether it’s worth risking a suspension. Also, so many of the rulings have mitigating circumstances to lessen the penalty - how many times can one person use “the groom mixed up the buckets” defense and be believed??
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Read the last paragraph. Any horses of hers are suspended as well. There will be no catch riders.
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This reminded me of an incident with my daughter and her pony… Flame was a little spitfire and it took a bit for her to learn to ride him, but after that he would do almost anything for her. She was having a bad day once and got a little too strong with him, and he took off at a gallop in our rather large arena and she couldn’t stop him. He must have taken almost 20 laps flat out, and the expression on my daughter’s face was priceless! She learned her lesson about not taking your mood out on your horse that day, lol. To bad everyone doesn’t have a pony like Flame to school them on containing their emotions!
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There is a person who used to board at my barn who would have fits of temper. I walked out of the barn in tears over seeing it twice. She moved and I didn’t report it as I don’t think she’s a member of any of these governing bodies and most people at my barn realized she was not humane in her reactions/treatment of her horses. One horse was recently found dead in the pasture due to storm (keeping this vague), and honestly I felt mostly relieved that the horse wouldn’t be living under that tyranny anymore. We all know she is a bad horsewoman but reporting to local authorities will do nothing because on paper those horses are well cared for. It’s a conundrum for sure.
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part of the problem is animal cruelty laws for dog/cats are lax in most places of the US, for horses, if they’re not being starved (and sometimes that’s ok too depending on the state) you’re not gonna get a prosecution. It’s a real problem.
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Prosecuting animal cruelty is tough, because the “evidence” (the abused animal) needs to be held somewhere. Shelters are incredibly full these days throughout the country, and there are only so many places to hold a horse.
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Horses are also considered livestock and therefore not held to very high standards when it comes to care.
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They are not considered livestock in every state in the US.
And yet you were concerned about the person lining up “catch riders”.
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Where are horses not livestock? Which states?
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Where are they not considered livestock ?
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Edit: sorry, I was thinking agriculture not livestock. 🤦🏻
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I rode with a trainer who had a young student probably 12 years. We were at a local horse trial and her student went in for showjumping. She rode horribly but that pony saved her butt numerous times. Had 2 rails down. As she came out of the ring she hit her pony with the crop 2x before my trainer yanked her off the pony and said don’t you EVER do that again! That pony saved your a$$ because you rode poorly. You ever do that again you can find another trainer. You are not allowed to come to the barn for 2 weeks. My trainer said this in front of her parents and not quietly. Her parents backed my trainer up. Just FYI-trainer competed at Rolex (2X) and Badminton and was short listed for Pan Ams
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And that’s exactly how it should be. And good for the parents for backing the trainer up.
Hopefully the mortifying experience is one that makes a serious impression on the young student, and they learn from it. Hopefully it is an important life lesson about being a disciplined and controlled competitor, and NEVER blaming your teammate, much less taking out your disappointment on your teammate. That sort of life lesson is important, and extends to situations far beyond horses.
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A friend of mine once countered her student’s hissy fit contending “the horse wouldn’t do it” by mounting said horse sans bridle and riding him through a variety of schooling movements.
With very rare exceptions, it’s the rider’s fault, not the horse’s.
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I live in the Sandhills and I would not say people are being quiet. It is being talked about, but I think a lot of the conversations are happening in person instead of online. Quite a few locals have responded to comments on this thread or commented and/or shared Allie’s posts. In addition to what people are voicing about AM, people have also been talking about Cameron and his potential involvement/knowledge. I do not use him as a vet, but I know people who do that do not plan to use him any longer.
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