The Leasing Game

["Corry, Lynda H." <lcorry@velaw.com>]

Re:  Post from Truman Prevatt

"I really can't believe that a horse that has a major metabolic crash -
serious
enough to have to spend time in a hoptial is "going to be fine".   Such
injuries have to leave their mark and decrease both their career as an
endurance horse - both length and performance wise.  Not every Herculean
effort to save a horse's life after the fact is going to work."
***
	So what's your point, Truman, and what is the purpose of this
generalization?  I didn't intend for this to happen to my horse and I
certainly have no plans to sell him.  I chose to make this "Herculean
effort" because 1) my horse and faithful servant had given me 10 years of
his life without complaining, 2) there was a chance he could be saved, and
3) I was the one who had gotten him into the predicament in the first place.
...And believe it or not, miracles do occur sometimes (even the vets thought
his recovery was amazing).  Baskhari hasn't had a metabolic problem since
then and his recovery ability never changed.  He had 12 months off from
competition after his crash, then came back to finish a 50 (3 of 24), a 75
(4 of 6), and three 100's (11 of 21, 3 of 6, and 4 of 7, respectively).
We've all heard of human athletes who've come back and done amazing things
after terrible injuries ... how many "ironman" triathletes out there have
ever suffered metabolic crashes?  ...And anybody out there ever heard of how
American bicycle racer Greg LeMond won Le Tour de France in 1989 with
seconds to spare, against overwhelming odds, only two years after an almost
fatal hunting accident?  They said he'd never ride again, so his '89 victory
was incredibly emotional -- check out the video -- as an endurance rider,
you'll relate!  I also personally know of a top endurance horse from a few
years back who got out of his pasture one night and was hit by a pickup
truck a week before an important competition.  In addition to many horrible
lacerations, the horse had fractured bones and a hole in his "armpit" by the
girth area you could stick your fist through.  One or two metal plates were
surgically screwed over the fractured areas, the hole healed up, and the
horse had several months of stall rest.  He came back a year later to win a
national championship.  Although I don't believe I'd ever buy a horse who'd
suffered some sort of severe injury -- metabolic or otherwise (I'd probably
be too paranoid) -- I don't believe that this was the issue here.  ...And if
you only have one horse like some of us working-class janes, you do the best
you can with what you have, until it's time to retire them (then you take up
skydiving or something).  Anyway, if seeing is believing, look me up if
you're ever in the neighborhood.  Baskhari and I will be more than happy to
take you on a tour of the Texas trails!

Lynda Corry
	& Baskhari (optimistic in spite of it all)
lcorry@velaw.com