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[RC] Awards, the horse's perspective - Ridecamp GuestPlease Reply to: Howard howard9732@xxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== When I first read this and saw it was from someone named Jim, I thought it was from Jim Holland, but, realized it was another Jim. I've read this several times and, I must admit, ended up feeling incredibly sad during the second or third reading. It's one of the things that separates horse sports from any other. Winning at any or all costs does not make you a winner and, as in Jim's post here, makes the horse the loser and the rider the one who has to live with the results, taking them to their grave. The horse must come ahead of everything else you do in this sport. Ahead of your own ambitions, your own (human) goals. Your horse's goals are far from being close to your own. Just because he likes to run, does not mean he's wanting to give up his own life to achieve your goals. This magnificent being doesn't even know his life is in jeopardy until you take him to that point. And, sometimes, it's a point of no return. Created by your desire to proudly wear a T-Shirt or belt buckle because of the efforts of your horse. If there's any doubt, whatsoever, pull your horse, on your own, and be damn proud that you did! Sometimes, to not finish, is to, indeed, be a winner. Please, read Jim's post here. Read it once, read it twice, but, read it for what it says. His post comes right out and tells you what should be important and, what should not, in the sport of endurance. I don't care what your level is, what your expertise is; these accomplishments of yours mean absolutely nothing when it comes to the life of your horse. Understand that your horse's goals are not your own, not even close, and, they never ever will be. cya, Howard (yea, I'll probably rejoin RC once I feel safe they're not going to try and lynch me, once again. I'm quite certain they will have to actually do just that to keep me away permanently) I come from a competitive sports background, where the theme was "show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser!" So, being recognized for succeeding and winning has always been a part of my mental make up. Hey, if you didn't keep score, why do the event? Now comes the hard part...my horse doesn't have the same perspective. I've witnessed folks truly abuse their animals in this sport to gain this recognition. I watched riders enter consecutive rides with the same horse and literally ride their horse to death in pursuit of a coffee cup, a horse blanket or to get their name on a piece of wood and brass. I know of a rider out here that had a phenomenal horse that won several 50's in a row. Then, one day that horse died in his arms the night after an endurance race. I wonder if he got a vision of his horse's perspective then? Our animals are an incredible gift from God. They teach us much about faith and trust as they surrender to our lead. I don't ever want to forget that fact when I am in a ride and tempted to push it just a little harder than I should. Three years ago, my horse, Montana, who I had ridden for 10 years, stopped eating and drinking at the 40 mile Bridgeport vet check. That afternoon, I had been pushing him a little harder than I should have. Montana had the heart of a warrior. Just a few miles before that vet check, Cherryl forced me to slow down. What neither I or the vets that treated him at the ride, nor the vets at UC Davis, who ended up performing the colic surgery on Montana that night realized, was the fact that Montana had a raging case of pleural pneumonia. That night, I realized what Montana's perspective was. He had survived a 5 hour drive over the Sierras to UC Davis. He came out of the horse trailer with a fever of 105 degrees, his gums were purple, and his heart rate was 90 bpm. He survived a surgery that probably sealed his death warrant that night. After thousands of dollars in vet bills, he came home. He lived about 2.5 years, but could never get past the damage done to his lungs. We had to put him down. Cherryl made the decision. I didn't have the courage to be with Montana when the vet came to put him down. But the night before he died, I fed him for the last time. As I watched him polish off the last bucket of grain I would ever feed him, I wept. That night, I got my horse's perspective. I wonder if AERC should refuse to recognize any top ten placement for the same horse more than once within a 30 day time frame to protect that horse from abuse? I know I'd trade every blanket, plaque and coffee cup I ever got from a ride for Montana's life back. Jim Holbrook =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. 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