How I Crew an ER Vet Gate - by Liz Taylor

Can I just add one maybe off topic bit of advice that I think is REALLY important and hugely overlooked (and a major pet hate of mine); NEVER drag your horse.  By dragging I mean walking in front of it, my crew have had this drummed into them for the last 13 years!  As soon as you walk in front of a horse it will lower its head and drag its feet and generally look terrible, tired and bored.  If a vet even catches this in the corner of his eye I believe you aren’t doing yourself any favours.  Always walk by its shoulder and make it walk properly – paying attention and striding out – especially on the way to the vet, there is nothing worse than a horse being dragged and tripping its way into the vetting area and is guaranteed to get you noticed by the vet.

Regarding kit I use the following list of ‘essentials’ – I have loads of stuff I take with me, none of it essentials, but I am terrified I will leave things behind!  I take about 6 rugs with me as well as numerous other things including spares of everything!!!

Crewing before vet;

Agree with Lesley’s write up.  But for the actual crewing of the horse before the vet I do the following;

Have the crewing area set up before you arrive, I suggest the following format;

The two buckets with drinking water at the head end and two on either side of the horse (ready filled and with sponges/jugs and sweat scrapers already in/near the buckets to save running around like a headless chicken)  Also at the front, but away from the water you need something to put the saddle on (a fence/saddle rack or even a water container/upturned bucket will suffice).

As you walk the horse to the crewing area you can slosh it, loosen the girth and if you have help then start taking the saddle off (whilst still walking) – you may wish to practice this at home.

In the crewing area first remove the boots and saddle as quickly as possible and check the feet, all too often you hear people shouting instructions and panicking out loud.  I would rather, especially with a Novice horse, a quiet atmosphere that things were done slower in than a loud rushed excitable atmosphere – the horse needs to relax for its heartrate to come down, so by being a bit quieter/slower/more relaxed about it you might actually get to the vet quicker!

As soon as the saddle is off I put the HRM on.    See what this is showing and note if it is a steady beat, if it is dropping or raising. 

Be very aware of the weather and your horse, one of my horses feels the cold so unless it is a baking hot day she has a rug on and barely any crewing, another of my horses is so thick set she doesn’t feel the cold at all.

If it a cold day the horse may not need crewing at all, just wipe the sweat off, wipe its face and up between its back legs.  Check its feet and again see what the HR is doing.

On a hot day I use jugs to crew the horse as the water can be poured on slowly and I feel this works better than a sponge.  I recommend the best places to crew a horse are down its neck, up between its back legs and over its backside – you need to get to the places the blood is closest to the skin (up between the back legs) and also the large muscle mass(the backside). 

When crewing don’t just chuck litres and litres of water over the horse, the idea is that you gently pour water onto the horse letting it trickle down the horse taking the heat with it.  This cools the horse, but as the blood is moving around the body, within a couple of pumps of the heart the horse is warm to touch again.  So, ideally gently pour water down the neck for example, then scrape off the hot water, then pour more cold water onto the area until the water comes off cool and the horse is cool to the touch.

When the pulse is steadily  at 60 – 62 bpm walk towards the vet (if their is a queue you can go a bit sooner).  Be aware that the pulse will raise approx 10bpm walking over, it may be worth if its a hot day taking a slosh to dampen the horse just before you present.

Take a rug/extra rug to the vets, there may be a bit of a wait to vet, or a cold breeze that you hadn’t noticed when crewing.

At home teach the horse to stand still for its pulse to be taken and make sure it trots up well, if its weaving about and tripping over the vet will look a lot more closely than at one that bounces up the trot up.

After crewing

Once you have passed the vet take on board anything that he has said positive or negative about your horse – if he’s told you to slow down do, or if he’s told you to get it to eat/drink you must try your hardest.  I always as the vet what he thinks of the horse, even if I know it is going well as another opinion (and a professional one at that) is never a bad thing.

Take the horse back to your crewing area and clean off any mud, check it over for and lumps/bumps/scratches – put a rug on if the weather is cold/damp to keep the muscles warm ready for when you go back out.  I think at this point I would rather the horse was a bit warm than too cold. 

Let it eat and drink as much as it wishes (be sensible with the hard feed if you have a greedy horse) Give the shoes a thorough check, any slight looseness can be rectified by the farrier in your hold time.

I like to keep the HRM on over the hold time and keep a check on it – this recovery period tells you a lot about how the horse is coping with the ride/speed you are going at.

If it has been hot (and the horse has drunk well) I may syringe half a tube/a tube of electrolytes into the horse (Cherry lytes from Equine America are my favourite).

Walk it now and again, keeping it moving will help keep he muscles relaxed and ready for your next loop, and it will also get the horse away from the feed for a small time.

Tack up with clean girth/numnah and be on the horse two or 3 minutes before you leave.  If it a hot day slosh the horse before you leave.

Remember most importantly to ride your own ride, it is all too easy to get caught up with another rider who is going faster than you would have gone on your own, also if its a race ride its too easy to get caught up in the moment and go off like the clappers.    I much prefer to ‘win from the back’ – I have been in last place into VG1 and gone on to win the race more than once.  It is all about knowing your horse and riding it within its capabilities.  Those that go flat out at the beginning are much less likely to even finish the race (with a few exceptions).  I also think that for both the horse and riders mental state it is much nicer to be passing horses later in a race who have gone too fast and overdone it than to be passed.  In an ER you will also be surprised just how many places you can move up in a vet gate with quick presentation times (under 5 mins) with a horse you have looked after compared to those that have gone too fast and taken 20mins to present. 

(if you have a fussy drinker;

Hope you are all well, see you soon!

Liz