Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

On Behalf of Patti Stedman

I thought I'd post to the gang about having our horse treated at the 
Flesherton 50 this weekend.

My husband and I were planning to take Finn, a 7 year old we've been 
bringing along carefully for a year, and Ned, my guy with a few hundred 
miles, to a steady eddie middle-of-the-pack completion of the Flesherton 
50.   This was to be Finn's first 50.  He's a rangy type, we have called 
him Thin Finn as we've worked hard to put weight on him.  Our other two 
horses get fat just *watching* Finn eat so much more than they do.  Finn 
has come along great in his conditioning rides, and completed an easy 25 
last month in Canada with all As and CRIs which indicated he was ready for 
the step up.  At home, we'd stepped up the difficulty and speed of our 
rides, and just couldn't seem to find any holes in Finn's 
foundation.  (Well, other than a bit of fussiness when he was asked to 
stand still in a group to be mounted.)

Fortunately for us, the weather had cooled a bit from earlier in the week 
and so it was in the 60s as we made the drive to Canada.  We did not lyte 
before trailering as we usually do when we're traveling more than four or 
five hours or if it's hot.  Arrived early afternoon, handgrazed the boys 
for a long time, and was pleased to see them both EDPP routinely.

Vetted through, and that evening's slurpies included Perform-n-Wins, as did 
the morning slurpie before the start.  We packed up PnW-added slurpies for 
each vet check, and also made up the usual ketchup bottle of 
Enduramax/Pro-CMC/ProBis in the event we wanted to dose on trail or at vet 
checks.

Given that we wanted it to be a low-key ride, we tacked up as the front 
runners headed out, and hit the trail ten minutes after the start, walking 
the first half mile or so.  The first 13 miles went uneventfully in about 2 
hours and change as I recall.  We were toward the back of the pack, as 
intended.  Both Finn and Ned drank and ate on trail, and vetted thru with 
all As.  Both ate well, especially Ned, who never misses the opportunity to 
chow down.  Didn't feel the need to lyte dose with the boys doing so well, 
and headed out for the 10 miles to the next check.

This leg took us down off the ski slope and mostly up dirt and paved roads 
to a combined training barn.  The morning dampness burned off, revealing a 
day that was probably a bit warmer than we'd anticipated.  Still both boys 
bounced along at a respectable pace, continuing to drink and eat when they 
had an opportunity.  We were really impressed with Finn's calm focus and 
willingness to go forward.  Nope, not crazed or nervous, just happy to be 
along for the fun.

When we vetted thru at Vet Check #2, both boys had cap refills of B, and 
all As otherwise.  The vet said, and we agreed, that both needed to eat and 
drink and that was what they were there to do.  Both did great.  Finn ate 
his entire slurpie, stole some of Ned's when he wasn't paying attention, 
then moved on to some grass, someone else's hay, and our own hay.  I 
checked his guts before we left.  Humming and gurgling.  We debated giving 
more lytes but felt confident that with the way the boys had eaten and so 
much grass and water on trail that we were doing okay.  I had in my brain 
that we were taking the same 10 miles back to the ski slope.

We hummed along on the third leg, Finn leading the way much of the time, 
and realized as we climbed the ski slope that there was a loop added in 
that made the leg 16 miles, not 10.  Still, no panic.  Both boys ate, drank 
and climbed willingly.  We were taking it easy, walking quite a bit and 
letting the boys pick the pace.  Twice I told hubby to tell Finn to quit 
trotting up the hills, he was making Ned look bad.  :-)  We discussed 
several times how well Finn was doing, how much fun he was having, how 
proud we were that he seemed to be taking everything in stride.

The first sign of trouble was as we walked through a grassy field into the 
vet check and Finn didn't seem interested in eating.  Ned snatched every 
mouthful he could as we strolled in.  Not Finn.  Not good.

When we arrived I was sure the boys were down, so we just stripped tack, 
sponged lightly and got right up to the vets.  I wanted to be sure to have 
Finn seen pronto and for him to have as much time (and extra as we talked 
about when we realized the leg was longer than we'd thought) to eat, drink 
and rest before we headed out again.  Ned was As on everything but cap 
refill, but Finn was B on guts, cap refill and jug (as I recall -- we don't 
have his card, of course).  We headed back to our area to mix up slurpies.

Finn looked like he wanted to roll at that point, so we took him to a 
grassy area.  He is the itchy type.  And he rolled, got up, and then looked 
at the grass without enthusiasm.  His rolling had caught the attention of 
one of the vets, and as soon as I saw him NOT digging into the grass when 
he got up and shook off, we headed right over for some attention.

Much attention followed, with the trailer brought over for Finn to get a 
ride back to camp.  The thought at that point was maybe it was just a mild 
gas colic, or a cramp, but best for him to be back at camp for treatment in 
any case.  The vets called ahead to camp to let them know he was on the 
way.  Finn loaded after a few minutes, and I went on to finish with Ned, 
worrying the whole way.

While I was out on the last leg, Finn got eleven liters of fluid and 
banamine.  He began to get colicy during treatment, which of course made it 
rough on all involved.  [Many, many thanks t everyone who helped.  I am 
always humbled by the generosity of the endurance folks.  Please know how 
grateful we are.]  By the time I returned, the worst was over, he was 
resting quietly, back to being bright eyed and alert, and ready to chew on 
a little wetted hay.

He's doing just fine now.  We stayed the night as planned, watching him 
carefully, handgrazing him with his buddy Ned, and ensuring he stayed 
hydrated, eating and drinking.  I turned in when he'd cleaned up two flakes 
of wetted hay and pooped a nice normal pile.  (You can imagine that 
celebration as I sat watching him in his paddock in the dark, nearly 
falling asleep in my chair!)

We are still stunned he had to be treated but have learned several lessons 
on this one.

Most significantly I think, is that all our horses are different, and 
knowing them is key.  Ned could probably get by in a ride without lytes at 
all.  He's just that voracious about eating and drinking, and has an 
excellent body reserve.   Our other gelding, likewise, and since Enduramax 
seemed to put him off eating, we'd switched to PnWs in slurpies for 
everyone.  Fine for Ned and our other gelding, but not enough for Finn 
apparently.  Perhaps it is his lean, mean self (yes, he gets fat in his 
diet, he'll be getting more now, I s'pose) that means that he doesn't have 
the "tank" that the other two do.

This is a different type of horse.  Both Shantih and Ned will say "enough 
is enough" when they are getting tired.  Not so with Finn, apparently.  I 
imagine this drive, this heart, is part of what makes some of the great 
horses great, but it also requires a very special stewardship.  I hope we 
are up to the task.

The incredible thing is that this horse's legs are tight, hard and cold 
after his forty miles, much of it on hard packed roads.  I liniminted and 
iced Ned's slightly puffy legs, and rubbed a bit of liniment on Finn's legs 
just because I didn't want him to feel left out.  Not so much as a 
windpuff.  When we arrived home, he bounced around the paddock, sound as a 
bell and looking nothing like a horse who'd recently hit a wall.

Getting a horse treated is a humbling experience.  Everyone was terribly 
kind, and offered ideas and their own experiences.  Still, even without a 
smoking gun, we can't help but beat ourselves up.  Both of us have shed 
more than a few tears over this one.

So there you go.  Not all treated horses are over-ridden, or ridden by 
novices (while we're don't have decades of experience, we've done distance 
riding on five different horses successfully --mostly-- for the last eight 
years), or running up front, or refusing to eat and drink for miles, or 
being dragged along by their riders.

I know that now.  Hope this serves as educational for someone.  I'm leary 
about putting it to paper (so to speak) but I know that AERC is about 
educating, and I'm willing to put up my own rough weekend in the hopes it 
will prevent someone else's in the future.

--Patti Stedman (NY)



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=