Yes, I want the
answer to that one too. Seems that Howard and I, aside from both craving an
ice cold corona now and then, suffer together with the same syndrome. EEEkkkkkk!
that is scary in itself.
Just out of curiousity, what is the formula that Howard
uses in writing his posts that makes people come unglued? I took his post as a
well-meaning heart-felt look into his soul. I've been doing it a lot lately
myself. He was just sharing his innermost thoughts with his "friends"... I for
one, would like to thank Howard for sharing his feelings. It only serves to
validate that "shit" does happen, no matter what.
Gosh Howard ... why don't we just bubblewrap our
horses and never leave the barn with them? Things happen -- to horses,
people, dogs, cats, every living being -- that's life!
I used to have an Arabian gelding I bought as a
4-month old. Trained him myself. I did lots of trail riding. One
day I was out on a slow pleasure ride with a friend when my horse suddenly
just laid down right in the middle of the trail. Colic! Walked
him back to the trailer and rushed him to the vet. By the time we got
there all symptoms were gone. He was fine. He had a
particularly bad colic episode in the winter a year or so later and was at
the vet for two weeks with an impaction. It took a year for him to be
rideable again. He seemed to be doing fine, but colicked again at a
horse show just standing tied to the trailer. I took him to a nearby
well-respected equine facility where he was scoped, tested, prodded and
pronounced fit and healthy. A month later he was dead. It turns
out he had a birth defect -- his intestine was adhered to something (its
been a long time and I've forgotten the details) and it finally tore
away. He was put down. He was only 9. I sold my
truck and trailer and said "that's it" --- no more horses. That lasted
about 6 months -- until another horse came into my life and they have been
there ever since.
So should I have quit trail riding because my horse
colicked? Should I quit tying him to the trailer because he
coliked? Should I quit feeding him because he colicked after
eating? Do you quit driving a car if you have an accident?
Get out there and do whatever horse sport appeals
to you. Give your horse the best care you can. If you own horses
(or any animal for that matter) at some point something is going to happen
-- just deal, learn and move on.
Well, I'm going out to the barn, peel the bubble
wrap off my horse and go for a ride!
Karen
Karen
Williams Spotsylvania, VA www.mattariver.com
-----Original Message----- From:
ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Howard
Bramhall Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2003 11:49
AM To: AERCMembersForum; ridecamp Subject: [RC] Howard
& War Cry
<snip>
I'm not trying to scare
anyone off from this sport. Not at all. I've analyzed this
thing quite a lot and have not come up with one concrete thing that might
have caused it. But, I will say, my love for this sport is beginning
to dwindle. I am concerned that so many of ya'll are not aware that
it can happen to you. And, your horse might not be as talkative to
you as mine was to me if it does. You might not catch it until it is
too late. Take it for what it's worth. For me, I'm seriously
considering taking a very long time off away from the sport I love, but,
does not seem to love me back in return. The horse must always come
first, above, even the sport of endurance!
cya,
Howard
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