[RC] The lost horse at Daddy's Day Dash - Diane Fruth
Hi Everyone,
JYI...the horse
separated from Mary Brown(from Ohio) at the Daddy's Day Dash in Norman,
Indiana was found Monday Afternoon by a Hoosier National Forestry Service Ranger.
He was found close to the area that horse/rider
were separated.
The horse was a little tired,dehyated, his bridle
was broken, the reins were wrapped around his legs.
Mary's new heart monitor and saddle were all
still there:) Whew....
Thanks go out to the Manager Kim at Midwest
TrailRide Campground for all her help, of course our Forestry Service,
Genie Stewart-Spears for her help on making the flyers & helping
Mary.
Thanks to all that helped look for the horse,
Jinn(DDD's Ride Secretary),Jinn's Mom & Uncle, our Club Members taking down
the Ribbons on Sunday,etc........
We had a horse at LBL lost on Saturday(May
18th) but was found the next day(Sunday May 19th) by a hiker, who
contacted the Forestry Service. He had crossed the Trace heading Northeast
towards the pond.
The horse was dehydated and the reins were around
his legs too, he had a cut on one of his legs.
I appauld the young lady who owns this horse. She
stayed the night at LBL so the horse could relax and drink before throwing it in
a trailer for the long trailer ride home.LBL was nice enough not to charge her
for that night either:)
As a Ride Manager this is one of my worst fears
and really plays with my feelings...
How responsible are we as RIDE MANAGERS for
someone else's horse?
IS THIS NOT THE RIDER'S
RESPONSIBILITY??
Some of the lessons I have learned on this
experience especially with LBL, you will need to find a Search and Rescue
Organization for horses in that area. I had the
organization for Daddy's Day Dash, if needed.
We had over 300 Trail Riders in the forest
this past weekend, flyers w/ horse's photo were posted on
Sunday.
OVETS will be there this weekend, so we knew we
would have more trail riders out on the trail this weekend if he had not
been found.
What if Genie had not been there to take a photo
of the horse/rider,not all rides have photographers.
How many Riders have photos of their
horse that they carry with them?
When we fill out our paper work for the permits
we have to list the closest Equine Hospital & they have to be notified
and on call, a EMT team, closest Hospital for the Riders.
Duh....what about a search and rescue team for
the horse.
Closest one to LBL that is active in located in
Paducah,Kentucky (50 Miles away).
The Forestry Service is not responsible for
helping you find your horse.
They will help if they have the manpower, but
they have to tend to the campground they are managing that weekend.
Jamie(LBL) told me that if they had not found the
horse in a few days they would have sent in a professional tracker. The RIDER is responsible for paying for that
service.
Just some things for all of you to think
about:) ~Diane Fruth
Ride Manager for LBL EXPRESS( this is the last
year for Jerry and I to manage),DADDY'S DAY DASH (this was our Indiana Club
Fundraiser Ride this year) and SPANISH SPRINGS EXPRESS( New ride in
Northern California with Dr. Phil Ollinger:)
