Re: RC: The Way We Win

[Merryben@aol.com]

When I lost my horse recently, we did a lot of testing to find out why.  We 
had to test for Rabies and as you know, that involves sending the animal's 
head to the State.  It is not a pleasant thing to have done or for that 
matter to be the vet doing it.  He did not have Rabies.  The EPM testing is 
not back yet.  He did have inflammation in the spine according to spinal 
fluid tests.  This horse had two severe neck injuries a year and about 2 
years ago, severe whiplashes for want of a better word.  There was something 
on one of the x-rays but the State declined to look for it.  He suddenly and 
without warning started going around in a circle, fast, like a cat chasing 
its tail.  Then he trotted about 100 feet or so, very disjointed and weird 
looking and then went down.  My roommate turned him over a few times to keep 
him from being in just the one position.  He had no control in the back.  His 
tail was limp.  His entire hindquarters were icy to the touch.  I touched his 
neck the next day after he had been dead for 12 hours and it was no colder 
than his entire hindquarters were the night before when he was still alive.  
The point of this is, no necropsy and no tests so far have told us anything 
we did not know just before we  euthanized him, other than what he did not 
die of.  Necropsy is not a sure way of finding out anything.  There are also 
people that would sooner die than have their horse "cut".  I know people that 
don't even want blood drawn because you have to stick a needle in them.  I 
don't think we can mandate a necropsy nor do I think it is necessarily a good 
thing.  I have no idea what my vet  bill this month will be because of this, 
my cat shots and the fact that I think my German Shepherd has a hernia or 
something that looks like it and I have an appointment for Thursday, but 
animals are expensive and I think the cost may outweigh the good of what we 
are trying to accomplish....

mb