> It is also important to clarify that although this horse wan in great
> distress and benefitted a great deal from intense veterinary treatment at the
> ride, it did not have a kinked intestine. It is quite likely that the
> difficulties experienced by the horse were triggered by some unidentified
> health problem which was present before the ride and was aggravated by the
> stress of competitiion.
Thanks Roxanne for your position. I'll agree having witnessed the whole
thing myself that Dr. Hewitt saved Lon's horse's life. It's also true that
Dr. Connerally (sp?) had told the rider (whose name I'll not mention her
and though she denied it when confronted) to slow down. She still went for
a win after Dr. Connerally told her he needed to slow down. I don't see
how Hewitt and Connerally could have done any more then they did. They are
outstanding ride vets. Riders need to take the sage advise of sage vets.
Sunland is a hard ride. I think both posts have their respective merits.
My point being though that when a vet tells you to go on providing you
stop going for a win and one continues to do so it causes problems. So I
wouldn't totally dismiss Margie's post. I have no further knowledge as to
the horse's health after leaving Hansen Dam. I only hope he survived. I
personally didn't feel good about the prospects as I saw him continuing
to lay down after stabilizing trying to kick at his own belly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tommy Crockett~Los Osos, California USA~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~tomydore@goblin.punk.net~~DAMS028%CALPOLY.BITNET@cmsa.berkeley.edu~