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Re: [RC] Tell your story (long) - Barbara McCraryWe have lost two mares on our ranch some years ago. One was 5 months in foal and died of a ruptured stomach while in her paddock. She had never even been broke to ride. The other belonged to my daughter and she had to be put down. She, too, was in her paddock, no where near a ride. Her symptoms were disinterest in food, quiet lethargy, and cold ears and nose. The last of these is the one that got me panicked. The vet did a belly tap and found it full of fecal fluid. He couldn't even get an IV into her jugular, as her blood was coagulated in her veins. He had to put her down with a injection straight into her heart. Talk about grim..... So, to support Julie's experiences, death happens, and it's not always the rider's fault. Barbara McCrary ----- Original Message ----- From: <Marinera@xxxxxxx> To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, June 30, 2003 12:14 PM Subject: Re: [RC] Tell your story (long) It seems to me that we have not gotten very far with the discussion of horse deaths. While I think that all possible data should be collected and filed for future reference, at the moment I consider there to be too many variables to reach very solid conclusions. So maybe there is another approach. Why not ask those who have gone through the sorrow of having a horse treated or die at a ride or post-ride what their thoughts are? Patti Stedman led the way with her ridecamp post today. So I think I will pick up the ball from Patti and tell my stories. I had a lovely mare I bought from Maryben Stover. Rushcreek Q-Ball carried me through the Tevis, did multi-day rides and 50 milers. She was an ideal endurance horse because she ate and drank and was smooth and willing and did everything just right. However she lay dead 12 hours after completing a local 50 mile ride. Q-Ball munched all night long tied to the trailer. She gobbled everything in sight at the 1 hour lunch stop. She went back out on the trail happy and willingly. She finished the ride in 33rd position out of maybe 70 or 80 entries, I cannot remember the exact number. She passed the post ride vet check. I returned her to the trailer and she did not want to eat. I walked her around to let her graze and she would not eat. Home was 1/2 an hour away. I took her home and turned her loose in the pasture with her buddies. She followed them about but would not eat. Her pulse remained low. She never pawed the ground, kicked at her belly or showed any colic symptoms. She seemed peaceful, but would not eat. I decided to do belly lifts. When I did she fell to the ground, got up, fell again, got up quickly. I was alarmed and called a vet who IV'd her. Her pulse was still normal and she was defecating so he did not oil her. When she did not seem to get better, (It is now about 10 o'clock at night) he said to get her to a vet hospital for possible surgery. The hour and a half drive was non-eventful, she defecated in the trailer, pulse was somewhat elevated to about 60. At the vet clinic they did a belly tap and found debris and declared she had ruptured and was doomed. She still showed no real pain symptoms, but she may have had painkillers administered. I do not seem to recall that. No pawing, no anxiety--the vet thought she was perhaps a very stoic mare. She was euthanized at about 3 a.m., approximately 12 hours post ride. A necropsy showed she had a ruptured stomach, not intestine. This is comparatively rare. My non-professional assessment is that I let her eat all night before the ride, she gorged at lunch and then I asked for continued physical exertion on an overloaded stomach. But it is also highly possible that there was a pre-exisiting condition that I was not aware of, perhaps genetic as her grandsire died of the same thing. A 2nd death. A horse I owned, but ridden by another very experienced rider, went down in a squirrel hole, did a somersault landing hard on her back. She developed colic symptoms approximately 10 to 20 minutes after the fall which were not relieved by the ride vet's administrations. She was hauled one hour to a vet hospital. Surgery revealed a twisted upper intestine (usually it is lower intestine). She had not ruptured. She was euthanized about 18 hours post surgery. I was told that upper intestine twists are far more difficult to repair than lower. I know personally of three horses that have dropped dead on the trail during trail rides. One rider went through our property and waved at me. Forty-five minutes later she walked up my driveway and said her horse was dead. No necropsy was done. We assume a heart attack. She had gone approximately 4 miles. I sold a 6 month old colt to a friend who put him in a pasture with another colt. When he was two years old, they found him dead in the pasture; the other colt in good health standing nearby. A necropsy revealed nothing other than a "possible ulcer" which was ruled out as a cause of death. The deaths I have mentioned have no common denominator that I can determine. I think any long time rider can tell you similar horror stories. I was thrown into a panic at John Parke's ride recently when my mare, who finished 51st with all A's except a C on guts, did not eat post ride. All I could think was that I had another Q-Ball disaster as this mare also gobbled everything in sight at the vet check. As with Q-Ball, she showed no colic symptoms. But a vet administered banamine shot and a dose of tranq and she was eating an hour later. I know first hand of two horses ridden to death as I was present at the rides. We know why they died. So in summary (I know this has been very long) I want it pointed out that what has happened with my experiences, can happen to anyone...no exclusions! It is a risk we assume when we own a horse. He can die in the pasture, he ca n die on an easy trail ride, he can die during or after an endurance ride. Fortunately it is rare, But when it does happen to others, I hope they will throw it out here for all of us to mull over and maybe at some point we will come across a common denominator. We are not on a witch hunt to place blame, we are searching for answers. And there will be no single answer, but many due to different circumstances. Just as with people, horses die for different reasons. I hope others contribute to this forum with their experiences. It is a morbid subject but perhaps necessary. I thank Patti for telling her story in detail. Julie Suhr =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. 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