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	For any one looking for encouragement to keep on keeping on, take a 
look at the article on pg. 66 of the Sept. "Western Horseman."  It about 
a young man named Quinn Simons who lost both feet and all his fingers in 
a mountain climbing accident but now works full time training horses as 
well as running a construction business.  He happens to work with a 
breed I'm very familiar with (& very fond of), the Spanish Mustang and 
his goal is to "get better at what I love to do."
	My Spanish Mustang is slowly learning that his new travelin' buddy is 
my new 4yo TWH.  I sure want to keep on keeping on!  I have a feeling 
that Quinn would agree that "to finish is to win."
Happy trails,
Laney

Bruce Weary wrote:
> Mary Ann--
> My crystal ball tells me that there will be increasing sentiments like 
> those you expressed regarding keepin' on keepin' on. And I will be bold 
> enough to predict that increasing numbers of riders will be doing it on 
> gaited horses. I appreciate all breeds, especially those individuals 
> whose owners have shown the dedication and done the work to get the two 
> of them to the starting line of an endurance ride, ready to take on the 
> day.  A prevailing quote at Tevis is that " The hardest part of doing 
> the ride is showing up at the starting line with a sound, fit horse."  I 
> have done 95% of my 7000 miles on Arabs or Arab crosses. And I have 
> enjoyed every mile. In the last three years, I decided to find out what 
> my body would feel like after 50 or 100 miles, but without trotting. The 
> gaited breeds offered me that opportunity. I am now the proud owner of 
> two foxtrotters and a soon to arrive Tennessee Walker. They are, 
> admittedly, not your average representatives of their breeds. They are 
> lean-built, thin skinned, sure-footed, solid-minded horses with great 
> legs and feet, that eat and drink extremely well, don't spook and have 
> either a 32 or 28 resting pulse. The older I get (47) the less tolerant 
> I am of easily startled  horses, who, while only reacting naturally to 
> things they don't understand or fear, might hurt me inadvertantly during 
> that reaction. I refer to any horse that might do these things, not just 
> Arabs. Those horses with cooler blood but also endowed with the physical 
> traits needed to do endurance,  and  to do it so smoothly, have a lot of 
> appeal in my mind.  It takes a lot of looking, as the endurance 
> candidates among the gaited breeds are, in my opinion, fewer and farther 
> between than amongst hotter breeds such as Arabs. It all depends on what 
> one wants to accomplish on that ride day. If I wanted to compete in the 
> WEC, my horse would likely have a dished face, large nostrils, a high 
> tail carriage, and have a papered name that has six consonants in a row.
>   If, however I want to enjoy the day at a slower pace, and enjoy the 
> countryside of a ride like those offered by the Duck, my gaited horses 
> do just fine, usually impressing a few riders along the way. I don't 
> mean to imply that they have to go slow. I have seen plenty of Arabs in 
> my rear-view mirror. And kept them there.
> And,with the way I feel after a ride, the money I'm saving on Ibuprofen 
> is putting my daughter through college.
> So for those of you who are paying an increasing price in pain and loss 
> of quality of life by persisting in endurance in spite of physical 
> infirmities, I urge you to consider a gaited candidate. There is so much 
> to be lost by quitting altogether. The great outdoors, increased muscle 
> mass and bone density, the endorphins release, the nurturing of body and 
> soul.
>  I have a patient, Valerie, who was struck by a car while riding on the 
> back of a motorcyle driven by her husband. He lost his life, and she 
> lost her left leg, mid-thigh. Her goal in life is to find a way to ride 
> her horse with that prosthetic leg of hers. She has already done it, and 
> has flattered me by asking for suggestions to improve her equipment and 
> technique. Kinda makes any excuse those of us might come up with for not 
> riding because of discomfort, well, inadequate. Where there's a 
> will...........  Bruce Weary
>
>
>
>
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