Re: Nature of Endurance Riding/Racing

["superpat" <superpat@gateway.net>]

Dear Linda,
Thanks for your post. Perhaps it will help to put some perspective to the
whole incident. I have purposely not put my two cents in on this discussion
because I have had up and down, back and forth mixed reactions. In defense
of those who may have "rushed to judgement", I believe that it is precisely
because we all care so much for our horses. I think we all have seen
instances where we may have thought that a rider was pushing his horse
beyond what may have been prudent or safe for the horse. At one time or
another, I have felt frustrated that I could not influence a friend to ease
up when I felt that the horse was not being given a fair shake, either in
the rider's inexperienced, abusive handling of a frightened or confused
horse or in the rider's sheer ignorance of the need to learn to care for the
nutritional and metabolic needs of his/her horse. I have watched horses
pushed to finish in the top ten even when the it was for the gratification
of the rider's ego and not in the best interests of the particular horse on
that particular day. So when the suggestion was made that a horse may have
died as the result of some of those things we have all witnessed but been
impotent to influence, our sense of outrage could be totally out of
proportion to the situation. And the reaction and hasty judgement could be
for all those other times, but now there is a target.

Even if Dave had been "at fault" (and with each report from someone who was
actually present, it appears that he was not),
I can only imagine his anguish and deep sense of loss. As one who has
experienced the loss of a beloved friend and companion, I know how important
it is to have the support and positive energy of friends who understand and
care. I hope that Dave is able to find that among his friends and I also
hope that the barbs and accusations as well as the supportive responses on
Ride Camp will cause us all to reflect on how very fortunate we *all* are,
for somewhere out there is a rock or hole with our horse's name on it, or a
piece of trail that could give way at the precise moment that our horse
steps on it. Lord, I would need several hands on which to count the times
that luck was riding in my back pocket. Certainly, it helps immensely to
know that I have worked hard to learn to communicate with my horse and one
never stops seeking and learning how to care for the needs of the horse,
physical and emotional. But even when all the bases are covered, chance
holds the trump card.

And, Linda, a belated hand on your shoulder with condolence for the loss of
your equine partner.
Pat Super

----- Original Message -----
From: Linda Flemmer <bluewolfranch@yahoo.com>
To: <DVeritas@aol.com>; <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Monday, July 03, 2000 7:05 PM
Subject: RC: Nature of Endurance Riding/Racing


> Frank,
>
> You are so right about "things happen".  We've had two
> incidents in recent memory that were quite scary.  One
> was tragic.
>
> The first incident was at a organized fun ride that we
> were using as training for the Old Dominion.  My mare
> was walking over "tank traps" (water barriers on the
> trail) when she stumbled and fell.  She was in supreme
> shape, trail savvy, moving at a working walk and not
> "day dreaming".  She just stumbled!  She immediately
> stood up & walked on, sound.  Within minutes she was
> progressively lame.  We noted clear fliud at a scrape
> on her knee and realized she'd punctured the joint
> capsule.  We led her off the mountain, got a vet to
> give first aid (she was in shock 45 minuted later at
> the trailer).  When stabilized, we got her to the vet
> hospital for flushing of the joint under anesthesia,
> followed by IV antibiotics in an intensive care stall.
>  The antibiotics were too strong and killed off the
> gut flora, causing her to become endotoxic.  Despite
> the hospital's heroic efforts, she died 3 days later.
> A true tragedy that was probably unavoidable in every
> sense of the word short of keeping her in a padded
> stall for her entire life.
>
> The second had a better ending.  Our green gelding was
> on his first steep moutain trail this summer when we
> came to trees down across the trail.  The horses could
> easily step over them and the Nat'l Forest Service
> obviously expected this - they only trimmed the odd
> branches on the top of each log to make the log
> "safe".
> My husband knew Razz was cluelees about this, so he
> got off & led for the first little bit.  Sure enough,
> Razz decided going around a log looked better.  He
> started to scramble on the loose rock & soil as he
> stepped off the edge of the trail onto the steep
> mountainside.  Mike was able to pull his head around
> and help him struggle to get his front feet back on
> the trail.  Poor horse stood with two front feet on
> solid ground and puffed, then got back up.  He stayed
> in the middle of the trail for the rest of the trip.
> The horse could have easily bounced more than 1200
> feet to the bottom.
>
> Endurance is a sport that takes us into remote
> territory where we must literally survive by our wits
> & the horse's training.  Sometimes it isn't enough.
> I'm willing to take moderate risk to see beautful
> parts of the country I would never otherwise get to
> see.  I'd be bored silly if I could never leave an
> arena or come off of the lead line.
>
> Yes, horses are accidents waiting to happen.
> Endurance can put us in some remote spots where it can
> get hairy and help isn't likely or slow to get there.
> I vote for supporting those folks whose number comes
> up and they have an accident.
>
> Do you know what I would have felt like if somebody
> berated me after my mare died?  Sh** happens.  I had
> supportive friends help me get through it.
>
> Linda Flemmer
> Blue Wolf Ranch
> --- DVeritas@aol.com wrote:
> >  THINGS HAPPEN, BUT, MORE IMPORTANTLY, SOMETIMES
> > THINGS DON'T HAPPEN.
> >     How many times have things NOT happened to you?
> >
> >     Frank.
>
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