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There is nothing more endearing than to feel the love and life that you felt, Laurie, for champ.  It is not often during the course of one's day that we are able to read a post and truly feel what the writer is telling us.  This is the emotion that runs through my heart today, for you, and for Champ.  It is truly a blessing to share and feel all that  you are feeling today.  God Bless and I second Steph's sentiment..."RIP Champ!"

 

D'Arcy

On Mon, Feb 25, 2008 at 11:30 PM, Stephanie Caldwell <stefffic@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

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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D'Arcy L. Demianoff-Thompson
cest.mon.virage@xxxxxxxxx

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