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I'm so sorry Laurie, Champ was truely one in a million.

RIP big boy, you were loved.

Steph

On 2/26/08, ladurgin@xxxxxxx <ladurgin@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>    He was King of our hearts. A true Throughbred. He was born in a stable
> 25 years ago and  he must have decided he wanted to die in a stable too. Not
> in the mud or the  rocks, but in his barn where he went when it got too cold
> or wet for his advancing years.
>     As new horse people 9 years ago , he was to be the  kids horse , cause
> the two unbroke  arabs my  semi-friend sold me weren't  going to be for  for
> these newbies.  I'd placed an ad, "Wanted  family horse to   do 4h with and
> fun shows, anyone can ride-" people said I was crazy to  do that. I thought,
> "Why not  ask?'  He was one of two calls. The man said , "his name is Champ,
> when I got him for my wife, the lady I bought him from said that was his
> name and after you have him a while, you"ll know why".
>    Everyone test rode him, even our 7 year old. My  14 year old daughter
> sort of took him over, she  did 4h, saddle club, taught him to jump after
> she  learned how, then they went on and  did Atlanta Pony Club, and  higher
> level showing as Hunter .  He took Reserve Champion twice,  my farrier who
> made $$ at rodeos, said she couldn't  win on him  cause she didn't have  a
> big name trainer  or  big dollar horse (he was 2500$).We had  large offer
> later, but we couldn't sell him, he was family.
>      Friday , it was a  1" cut, and under his turnout blanket. It wasn't
> swollen, seemed fresh,  on his butt.  "How did you do that under the blanket
> in the  1 acre tunout?. Must have lain on a stick or rock. Later I found
> some electric fence wire or baling wire  hanging out of the  roundbale
> ring.(must have been in the bale, cause I  don't use it) Maybe it was that.
> I hosed and put him in the little corral  connected to the barn, with my
> mare who  was lame with no holes , heat or swelling. She was lame (later I
> found her heel bulb  was thrushy (mudpoo everywhere).so I was treating her
> and wanted to keep both up on dry gravel and mats.  I thought the wound on
> him  maybe too small to stitch and might pull open anyway and he has had
> much worse ones, but I wanted to watch it and hose it and she is herdbound.
>     We had a competition for my son the next day so I was gone  12 hours, he
> was swelling  so I called the vet and went and got antibiotics and  bute.
>   Next day some more swelling, but it  often takes a day or two for meds to
> kick in , right? I called my daughter , now a  Huntseat riding
> Instructor/barn manager etc. to reassure myself, she'd handled much worse .
> I said  I think I'll call the vet next morning , if there was no
> improvement.
>     3rd morning , swelling had increased, I called the vets at 9:30 wanting
> them to come. They said one on a farm call , he'd be out or  the second one
> would, cause it was a nice day and wanted an excuse to get outside, and  he
> said " horses just swell under the skin" after -- I had told him  I was
> really concerned because it  had progressed to his  Penis  and looked like
> it was in  his abdominal wall. (this vet I and other horse  owners  kind of
> don't like, he'd poo pooed me before and was wrong).
>    I waited , and he was going down more and  was thrashing a  bit, I was
> getting very concerned. I called again, and said  his respiration was  about
> 60 or so, his cap refill was 3+, gums were whitish to pink.He was pooping,
> and eating and drinking, but his pee was  getting thick and dark like light
> coffee color or med. tea which I  was worried about .
>    I got the newer vet  here 7 hours later, who seems  to be knowledgeable
> and doesn't treat you like you are dumb. He made noises  when he saw
> him,that I told him  sounded like he was really worried. He gave  shots
> penicillian,  gentec,  tet.  Dex, demesdone,  We wrapped opposite  legs as
> the  wounded rear leg was on the same side as his bad knee . Champ was still
> eating  hay and drinking out of the bucket  when I held it. No fever. The
> vet  stuck his probe all the way in his  wound, he said it almost  looked
> like a knife wound, so it was a pucture wound-- I  didn't think it was ,
> cause it looked like a one inch slit.  Told me to keep hosing as much as
> possible and maybe walk him.  He  then  got lasik and  put a catheter in ,
> my neighbor  a vet tech had come over, and she said  it  was  really dark
> reddish brown. He said the swelling was pinching off his bladder and  bowel,
> so he then lanced him in a couple places to see if  it could  drain better.
>     I went to the house to  get  some food and  stuff together and then
> drove to the vet who called again and wanted me to  come get some lasik . I
> am a wimp about  shots and anything in pain, how was I going to do  this? my
> neighbor offered to help . I went up to the  barn, got a bag of hay for him
> and walked over, noticing he must have gone in the stall. As I tied the bag,
> I realised I didn't hear anything. I walked over , He was laid out quietly
> in the stall, no evidence of  thrashing. I was only gone  about 90 minutes.
>     The cut hadn't looked bad, it was so  quick.
> He'd been a race horse for  5 years, a trail horse, done 4h, pony club ,
> saddle club, Hunter and eventer circut ,even a bit of dressage.
>     He really was a Champion in every sense of the word, I am sorry I
> sometimes felt he took alot of time to care for  that I could be riding  and
> training and ate alot-- but we had loved him enough I felt he deserved to
> spend his  retirement with his little herd. He was still number one  in the
> herd, and they all stayed close to him  by the fence for the last 3 days.
>     I am grateful, he still nudged me and  splashed the water  on me today,
> I am grateful  he was so good as to let me walk him when his leg hurt so
> much. I am grateful I could feed him hay by the handfuls today and try to
> get the mud off of him and rub his smart bumps on his head.
>     Goodbye Champ...........................We loved
> you.........................
>
>
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-- 
"Brutality begins where skill ends."
"Correctly understood, work at the lunge line is indispensable for
rider and horse from the very beginning through the highest levels."
Von Niendorff

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