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[RC] steves' remark seeing Paladin on the trail again - rides2far


I just want to make a quick statement about "Seeing Paladin on the trail"
again. 

Back in the late 80's I was managing an endurance ride where a horse that
had placed very high at that ride before was traveling its normal pace,
recovering well, and then crashed. It was touch and go all night as to
whether the horse would recover. It has been ridden reasonably according
to its training. The horse lived. Now...should it have been retired?

Well, it wasn't. I'm not naming names since I'm not sure I have every
fact straight but I believe it went on to be National Champion 100 mile
horse, competed another 5500 miles on top of the 1500 or so it already
had, and competed in the top ten and won its region points race well into
its 20's looking GREAT!  I hope to goodness that if I ever happen to get
really sick during a ride nobody bars me from the sport out of guilt.

Second example was a friend whose horse had several thousand miles of
competition with never one treatment, got sick and required treatment
(never quite figured out why), got a staff infection and almost died. I
was the daily counselor as this person blamed herself and was absolutely
stricken with guilt. She swore she'd *never* compete him again....but the
horse got well, 100%. He was his old self. Healthy, happy, an ENDURANCE
HORSE. She said she was going to "just do what he could do" and go to
those awful wagon train type trail rides. Talk about a place to get
killed or sick!  I finally got her to bring him back out and she rode him
with me on my first 100. It was a beautiful thing and he was beautiful
going down the trail, which he continued to do with never another
metabolic problem.

A person who has just had a horrible incident should never make rash
"he's retired" statements. To take one of the 4 best 100 mile horses in
the USA and condemn him to a sudden pasture potato status *if he is 100%
again* to me is wrong. A horse doesn't get to be the best like that
without having the WILL to be an endurance horse any more than a person
with a nice physical build becomes a great endurance rider without the
love for the trail.  

A new horse is a blank slate. For all we know every little thing we try
for the first time might be catastrophic. Who is to say that it's more
dangerous to ride a horse you know well in a situation where he has
stayed HEALTHY in the past than it is to start a new prospect?  If Pal
has never had a problem in the USA, on his normal regimen, why should he
now? Seems to me I might say, "I'll never ship him over seas again" but
why say you'll never do what he's been happy and successful at again?

Angie

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