USEA Convention: Afternoon Meetings/Seminars Live Thread

Check out photos from the USEA Awards Lunch by Josh Josh Walker at EventingUSA.

**At this point in live threat, a USEF executive mentioned that the progressive list would be delayed.  Shortly thereafter all the media was asked to leave the meeting.  We are all in this together, including riders, the media, and the USEF.  At times, such as this, the USEF probably views the media as a nuisance.  But we all have the same goal to grow eventing, and I hope that everyone feels, as I do, that a strong and independent media is an important asset to our sport.**  

4:30 PM-Care of the Event Horse After Cross-Country by Max Corcoran.  Unfortunately I arrived late to this lecture because I was busy dealing with the progressive list breaking news.  Max describes herself on her own blog as “Karen O’Connor’s head groom,” but if you are around the O’Connor program for any period of time you will know that Max is much more to OCET than the term ‘groom’ implies.  I love reading Max’s blog, although I wish she would write more, and I am so glad that she is starting to develop a more public presence in eventing because good horse care needs all the help it can get these days.  Here are a few notes from the final portion of Max’s talk.

-For sores in the corner of the horse’s mouth, Max suggested laser treatment, Preparation H, and some type of silver cream.

-Max said that she traditionally ices the front legs at horse trials for a minimum of 20 minutes after XC, and said that recent study results have suggested that icing horses for longer than 20 minutes in one period is a valid form of treatment.  

-Max uses eventing grease at any competition that involves a vet inspection following XC.

-To help reduce typical horse after XC, she recommended packing an epsom salt and betadine slushy into the sole of the hoof, with a diaper, vetwrap, and duct tape on top.

-Finally, Max noted the need to be properly prepared with the proper tools.  Spare shoes, hoof testers, a thermometer, and shoe-pulling tools are all important.

-Finally, Max pointed out that proper horse care is proactive, a daily and hourly process.

Of course, every horse is different so please consult with your veterinarian about the best possible horse care strategy for your particular horse.  Thanks for donating your time Max, everyone enjoyed it.

A few other FEI updates.  The Jurga Report has three excellent documents from the FEI posted.  Eventing Nation first linked to the Q&A about the progressive list on horsetalk.co.nz earlier this week, but the Q&A apparently originally came from the FEI and we appreciate the Jurga Report giving credit where credit is due (namely, to the FEI).