Dr. John Thomas

[hikryrdg <hikryrdg@evansville.net>]

Back in the late 70's I meet Dr. John through a mutual friend Mike Kegley.  We
were at that time just learning about our trails, trail riding and distance
riding.
When Dr. John started his practice way back when, there were just two DVM's
specializing in horse work at that time. Today in Indiana there are over 100
horse vets.  A couple of weeks ago Dr. John and I were discussing the changes
in veterinary practice from then till now.  
That lead to a rather spirited debate between Dr. John and myself regarding
which vet school turned out better vets. Ohio State or Purdue. Of course we
never, after many such debates, changed each others mind, but it was
fun discussing the merits of each school. The one thing we could always agree
on was that the corn feed Hoosier girls always seemed just a bit healthier
than
those that came out of Cleveland.
But all kidding aside, Dr. John did care deeply about the horses he treated. 
He loved our sport.  He loved to trail ride. any time, any place.  
Dr. John introduced competitive trail riding to most of us here in
Indiana.  At
a pre ride exam when he was finished with a horse he would turn to a rider and
always have a kind comment to make about the riders horse.  He would
comment on
the horses trot, its eye, the way it was put together.  Anything that caught
his eye that pleased him, he would tell the rider.  I liked to just hang out
and listen to him and his comments. He had a way with a rider that made the
rider feel at ease.  Riders trusted his judgement.  Dr. John was fair, honest
and kind. Over all these years you couldn't find a rider that would find fault
with John.  Oh, from time to time you would hear some of the competitive
riders
complain that he made a ride to fast.  And John would just tell them that
their horses were so good that the only way he could really tell the very best
form the rest was to add just a little more stress to the ride.  He did and it
worked.
Over the years Dr. John hosted seminars giving the newbies a chance to
understand completive trail riding before they went  out on the trail. Not too
long ago he hosted such an event. A real success.  I rememberer him saying "If
you are looking for horse to do distance riding, find one that has a jingle to
his trot".  That stuck with me.  When I go to rides now and I watch the pre
ride vet ins, I look for the horse with a jingle to his trot. You might see
one
out of 20 that has that movement.  Dr. John had an eye for a good horse.
Two and one half years ago, he was told that he had six months to live.  In
the
past 30 months he did two trail rides in Europe, vetted rides here in Indiana,
and continued on with his vet practice.  Dr. John was as active as one
could be
considering he was battling cancer at the same time.  Dr. John vetted a ride 9
days ago!  His spirit and energy beat back the cancer for a long time.  Dr.
John passed away this morning in his sleep.
I've had three heros in my life.  General Douglas McArthur, Senator Bob Taft
and Woody Hayes.  Today, I've added a fourth hero.  Dr. John Thomas.  The next
time I'm out doing a 100 and the going gets tough I'll just turn my thought to
Dr. John.  A man that never, never quit.  A man who gave it his all and then
some.  We lost a true hero today.

Jerry Fruth

Here is a picture of Dr. John Thomas
You can choose to open it or not

MVC-006S.jpg