Easy - Although I agree with much of what you say regarding vets I think that we ( as owners ) have been pretty sloppy in the way in which we manage our horses and/or allow our horses to be managed.
It is becoming increasingly obvious to me that the traditional Authority To Act - effectively a blanket Power Of Attorney insofar as my horse is concerned - no longer suits the way in which I would like my horse to be handled.
There are certain actions and services which I would like to be consulted on BEFORE they are effected :
1.) Veterinary - A tricky one which I perhaps need to further apply my mind to; but I would like to be consulted on all/any treatment where the charge will exceed R150. The other exception would be a life threatening emergency issue although I would not be offended if I were called at 3 am to be told that the yard was battling colic.....
I particularly want to eliminate the veterinay role in matters such as flu vacs and 'vitamins' where the stable cat could have administered such treatments successfully and saved me spurious charges such as travel and R 79-50 + VAT for an injection ( and that excludes the substance administered )! A quick totting up of 'travel charges' certainly confirms that most vets should be able to comfortably finance Porsche Cayennes from what they are charging at present for travel.
2.) Prohibited substances - Call me naive. Call me old fashioned. Call me both and add a***hole for good measure if it makes you feel better. But I don't want prohibited substances going into my animals AT ALL. Finis. Long term good seldom if EVER comes comes of it and treatment usually just masks a severe issue which will return to haunt both the owner and the animal.
Watching this industry play ducks and drakes with these substances is not for me. No horse flourishes from having steroids and cortisones administered. Since the arrival of the internet I have been able ( admittedly as a lay person ) to read up on substances in common use between races and they mostly have horrific and destructive long term side effects. Requiring the administration of additional drugs to mask and deal with such side effects.
If OWNERS were to intervene it would be the quickest way to reduce this abuse as a trainer whose charge tested positive AT ANY TIME ( Yes - random visits to yards please, NHRA ) would not be protected by the 'window periods' presently in use as he/she would specifically have violated the terms of the Authority To Act.
3.) Travel & Nominations - I want to be advised BEFORE my horses are entered for or travelled to out of town events. It seems of no concern to trainers that this costs the owner EXTRA at a time when money is tight. To say nothing of having the 'out of town' expenses foisted on us. And then running unplaced.
4.) It would be really nice if trainers would act FOR the owners - seeing they do have the Authority To Act for us and not themselves. Had they all refused to engage jockeys for more than the 7% they traditionally received then none of them would have had rides when they arbitrarily increased their own incomes by just under 30%; and pretty soon they would have broken ranks to comply with the status quo.
Talk about one way merchants! It was not that long ago that racing bodies had to bale the pygmies out of a financial mess they had gotten themselves into. They were very happy to be rescued then at our expense. Now, all of a sudden, they are labelling themselves as 'independent service providers' and pricing themsleves accordingly. Well - if they would like to repay the rescue money we will definitely consider treating them accordingly.
5.) I would further like my agreement to detail a rest period of at least one month per annum OUT OF THE YARD in a large, sunny, grassed paddock. It does them good.
I am sure there are other good ideas which clan members could add to this. But I feel we all need to take more responsibility for our charges.
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