We leave him alone for half an hour or so while we set up the Game Ready and get on “the list” for fluids.
This is fascinating to me! Can you expand a little bit about “the list”? Does a vet have to come and administer (put them on/take them off)? If you add your horse to the list, is there a chance you’ll get denied? Then what?
Do most riders own the Game Ready system or just rent it?
More please ~ loving this thread !
More information please ~ loving this thread ~ :yes:
Ditto for more info! Great stuff - thanks for sharing those of y’all who are there / have been that route! 
The barns are closed from 10:30 PM til 5 AM as a regular day–I didn’t check the schedule to see if it was extended Saturday night.
If you need access to barns during those hours you must be accompanied by a FEI steward.
The horses are essentially on “lock down” during this time within a perimeter fence and no access other than through security gates. No one can get in or out without the escort.
Security was/is extremely tight to get into the barns at all times and gets even more so at night.
Re: checking of horses–there are stewards on night check all night long and any horse in distress would be noted almost immediately. All stalls have stall cards with emergency contact information and there is 24 hour access to vets.
(I just got home from a week on barn management).
Thank you for this threads, and for all the great responses! It really is an informative one.
I know I will never be anywhere near this level, so it is an interesting peek into “a day in the life” of a horsey athlete.
mARY bROMILY?
is Mary Bromily, a British ;)physio, there withe Kiwis:confused:? I did a course with her at Doug Hannums, back in the 90ies:yes:
Wasn’t there a night security shift the first night that failed to show up? Thought I saw that on somebody’s blog…
[QUOTE=BigMick;5136497]
This is fascinating to me! Can you expand a little bit about “the list”? Does a vet have to come and administer (put them on/take them off)? If you add your horse to the list, is there a chance you’ll get denied? Then what?
Do most riders own the Game Ready system or just rent it?[/QUOTE]
Yes, the vet must administer fluids. Technically, everything going into the horse that is not food and water must be done by an authorized vet (but I’ve seen needles going into horses with out vets attached- B12, legend, and similar are “common”). If you request fluids, you won’t be denied. Its call the list because it really is a list of names requesting fluids.
Okay, so how does one decide their horse needs IV fluids versus just letting them drink? Is it based on years of previous experience, knowledge of the horse’s drinking habits, weather temps, etc? Does the vet decide the quantity?
Sorry for belaboring this point. I just never knew this was done, and I love to learn about different horse management practices.
They have vet students making rounds of all the barns all night. They keep an eye on all the horses during lockdown. There is a special radio channel called “vet net”, and they check in with the stewards and the head vet (Cricket?) if anything looks off to them.
Barns closed at the regular time on Saturday night.
Least favorite night duty for the stewards is having to be with the service that does manure removal; that generally seems to run about two hours, and the steward has to be there for all of it.
You pretty much nailed it. IV fluids can just really bring the life back to a tired horse and drinking water overnight won’t do the same. If a horse is in tough shape (versus looking like they ran xc but are otherwise bright) most vets have portable devices that run electrolyte and hydration levels (usually packed red cell count for hydration), but PRC/PVC can be misleading in a horse that has run xc because red cells are stored in the liver (up to 50% of a horse’s total red cells). When the number is high under normal conditions that is indicative of dehydration because with less fluids in the systems the red cells become concentrated. The number can also go up when red cells are released from the liver… increases the concentration because of more red cells not reduced fluids. Exercise and excitement cause the red cells to enter the blood stream and totally skew the normal parameters for hydration.
Therefore its pretty standard to give fluids to any horse showing symptoms or had any problems in the past. Plus all the horses at the top will pretty much be getting fluids to make them at the top of their game. I would not be surprised if 60 horses were given fluids on saturday night despite the lower temps, but that’s just my personal speculation for this being a world championship.
Great thread!
Now, where do I go to see what the chubby reiners get up to… 
suggestion to anyone who lusts for a Gameready:
find someone who wants to move up to a Zamar:
http://www.zamar-uk.com/technical-description.htmOMG, I need one of those Zamars made for humans!!
<< need one of those Zamars made for humans!! >>
http://www.zamar-uk.com/sports/index.html
and no, I dont work for Zamar, I just lust for one. Two of my friends have them for their horses and I really think they are state of the art.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use