RE: Horse Abuse/Death

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

Heather Watson watson1@gv.net
<Well it finally happened. The same guy who consistently rides his
horse to win every week has finally done it. His horse died at the
Oakland Hills ride.>

OH NO!!!!!  Dancer is dead?  This is absolutely awful.  I heard about the incident, but didn't realize the horse died.  

I saw the pair at the Wine Country 50.  I'd never met either the rider or the horse until the pre-ride vet check when we were standing together in line.  I was admiring Dancer and how sweet he seemed.  His owner was giving him all kinds of pets and rubs, and Dancer seemed to be very happy and content, including affectionate.  I had no idea from watching the two of them that this was the infamous duo that I'd heard so many horror stories about.  I'm sure many of you have heard similar versions, so I'm not going to mention details here. Someone else can do that.

If he's dead, that is truly a waste.  He seemed to be an incredible horse who apparently had a lot of heart and an incredible/forgiving attitude, willing to give all that he had.  Apparently he gave more than he could give this time.

This is so sad... I can't help but cry thinking about when horses die, and this one is especially tragic.  He was such a nice boy with a soft eye.  Now I wish I'd never met Dancer, because I can put a personality to his name, which makes it all the more awful.