RE: [RC] [RC] Ouch! So that's what a pull at the finish feels like! - Sherman
I also found out this weekend at Wild
West. Storm was happily eating his heart out at the trailer for an extra 20
minutes, as I just hadn't had the heart to pull
him away earlier. I grabbed him & his buddy, Shadow (who did consecutive 50s
with my 12 yr old daughter, Tara, many thanks to Rebecca Jankovich who sponsored
her on day 2!!!), as we were heading out and on the way did a little
trot.....yep, 3 legged lame. I told the vet, Melissa Ribley, that he was waaay
off. She checked him anyway and said everything else looked good, go ahead &
trot him out so she could see for herself. Fortunately, Melissa thinks it's
probably just a stone bruise, but he was so lame I didn't expect a
completion and I knew she shouldn't give him one. After walking back
to the trailer, giving some bute, waiting 10 minutes and checking him again, his
lameness was barely detectable.
Nevertheless, I was thrilled that he had done so
well on his 2nd 50 of the weekend (we did skip a day 'cause I thought 2 in a row
would be too much for me) and I pray that there is nothing seriously wrong as he
is still slightly lame. The vet will check him over Monday too see what's going
on. He was just as energetic when we came in (5th) as he was when we started in
the morning. I think we've got the electrolyte & selenium supplement all
worked out 'cause he drank sufficiently and there was no muscle cramping, which
had been a concern last season.
I loved the ride, and if I don't ride it next year,
then I'll volunteer. The volunteers were all so very helpful. The ride vets were
wonderful and very tolerant of my overly emotional Storm, who needs to be with
his Shadow for his heart rate to stabilize, and of Shadow, who needs Storm to
trot with her so she's not dragging her butt thinking she's leaving him
behind.
I was surprised at how easy it was to accept the
pull at the finish, my only concern was for Storm at that point, and I was so
relieved when he started moving more freely again so quickly.
