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[RC] Gorgeous George, Tevis and I - CowgirgoofHi all, for those of you who have followed my Tevis saga, I've had to make the most difficult decision I may have ever made in this sport. My horse has been coming up with a mysterious grade one lameness on the trot outs, (it was worse at Leatherwood). He feels fine under saddle while on trail, but when I trot him in hand, he is showing this slight lameness. I've had radiographs done, accupressure points test, he's been on on Cosequin long-term and he had a Legend injection before his last ride. Nothing is showing up other than slightly normal arthritic changes that occur in a thirteen year old horse. I believe it's in his shoulder, even though I realize that is somewhat un-common. He really dislikes going down what few hills we have, and he stiffens up slightly and "points" his leg out from his body when the ride is over. His shoulder also "pops" or "cracks" after the ride sometimes. I have used the analogy with human marathoners: many can run marathons again and again, but ask those same runners to train for an Ironman or ultra-marathon, and their bodies may not hold up to it. I guess that's my horse, just past his prime for being a one-day 100 miler. I know I'm doing the right thing, because I've spoken to lots of Tevis finishers (and a couple of "notorius" veterinarians), who say you must bring a very sound horse out there. And most of the horses in question have not even been hauled 3000 miles to start with! So... Wonderful Ed and Kathi Kilpatrick from the panhandle of Florida are going to let me take "Gorgeous George", their BLM mustang. George is a tough horse who has two solid years of 50's, LD's and even two one-day 75's. He's finished everything he's started, and when you look at his completion times, he can be ridden at just about any pace. I'm very excited about this as George is such a nice horse, and I was becoming very concerned after not completing on my horse at Leatherwood. (and he had the same grade one after a 30 mile CTR this past Saturday) I have lived, breathed, slept and "ate" Tevis for over a year now, and I just have to go. I'll be riding George 50 miles at Liberty Run next month, then Ed and Kathi are letting me bring him home to get to know him for the last two months before Tevis. That way, we can do some night riding, and train for the heat and humidity. Ed and Kathi are going to fly out and help crew, and that is such a bonus when riding someone else's horse. Wish us luck- Tevis bound - only 93 days and counting! Becky Siler ============================================================ There are few places where the horse does not fit in; at least in my world, as delusional as that one may be. ~ Howard Bramhall ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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