I know this is late, but I've been gone from Thurs until Monday and am wading through all my email. Anyone who remembers when I started competing Cheers 12 years ago will remember a horse who had to be vetted with a chain on his nose. The longer he had to wait, the worse he behaved. We didn't have LD in the midwest at the time, so I was doing CTR which involves a lot of waiting. I remember one time I got so mad at his behavior I kicked him hard in the stomach as the vet was approaching with his stethoscope. His pulse jumped to 72 and I broke my toe. We did switch to endurance just because the vet checks were easier, but I kind of wish I'd stuck with CTR for another year to teach him. Oh well....at our last ride last year the vet called him "steady Eddy" and the "been-there-done-that horse." He's great at checks now, but still can be a brat on the trail.
