Hi Chris, Yes I''vee got the same question than you. I lost my horse =
this weekend after the same happened to him.
It was a tough 50, our 6th one. At each vet check he checked out OK.
Normally he doesn't drink during the first 20miles, but thereafter he =
drank at every stream. We finished the ride in 4h42, and my horse was in =
the best condition ever. He was a bit dehydrated, but not much. About an =
hour later he was laying down and started getting cramps. One of the =
course vet's examined him, and gave him injections for pain and colic. =
The vet DID say that Bismarck was badly dehydrated, but didn't put him =
on a drip. Bismarck seemed to be OK, but still a bit doozy. After we =
arrived home, he started pawing. I called my vet and started walking my =
Bismarck so that he wouldn't lie down.
My vet arrived and he diagnosed severe dehydration and Colic. We gave =
Bismarck a stomach pump and it must have been liters of fluid coming =
from his stomach. We gave him some electrolytes and glucose via the tube =
and we put him on a drip. After about 13 litres he wasn't dehydrated =
anymore, and he seemed to be OK.
The next morning (yesterday) Bismarck was gone. Farewell Bismarck, I =
will miss you...
Now my questions...
What happened?
How could this have happened ? (Bismarck was in his best shape ever. He =
was floating in his trots, and several people of the National team =
remarked how well he was moving (trotting) down the mountain. After =
20miles he started drinking at every stream. (He did'nt want to drink =
from the holders at the waterpoints, but the streams he drank just =
fine))
Could Bismarck have been saved if the course vet put him on a drip?
He was just a bit dehydrated after the ride, so how could he become =
severely dehydrated within such a short time? (He had a bucket of water =
in his camp).
Later I noticed some poisonous weed in his camp. Could he have eaten =
this?
African Horsesickness is rampant over here at this stage. More than a =
1000 horses have already died from it this year. Could he have had it in =
an early stage during the ride?
Why?
Is endurance riding worth the price?
Would Bismarck still be alive today if I took it slower? (but he felt =
so fine)
Thanks, Hendrik...
Sorry if I sound bitter or sad, but Bismarck was my first horse and I =
LOVED him....
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Just a remembrance to Bismarck...
When I got Bismarck a year-and-a-half ago, it was because nobody else =
really wanted him. He was extremely naughty (he used to decide that it =
was time to go home a couple of hundred meters from the stable, and then =
he just used to turn around and head for the stables). He couldn't trot =
(only very slowly), he was frightened of everything, etc.
When I got him, the last thing on my mind was competition. However, =
after I started riding hime everyday, he started improving so much that =
about 2 months later some people were starting to ask me when we were =
going to do endurances.=09
3 Months later we did our first long distance race (21miles) and we =
won. I did it just to see if he could take the stress of the racing =
together with the strangeness of all the other horses around him. So his =
endurance career started. We did a couple of fairly slow 50's and we =
qualified for the National Championships of 1995, but I felt that he =
wasn't ready for that long distance yeat (131 miles) and decided another =
year would be better.
This year he was going fantastic. At a fast trot (+-12 mph) it felt as =
though he was floating over the ground (and everybody else remarked that =
it looked as though he was floating too). During hill training sessions, =
he flew up the mountains (nobody could even get close to him).=20
With somebody else on his back, he was a different horse. Then he was =
so calm, so quiet, that you couldn't believe that he could ever run like =
a 'Bat out of hell' ... (That is what some people used to call him, or =
SuperHorse).
My brain knew he was not the best, that he could never be, but that =
didn't matter. For me he was perfect. I just hope that he was happy =
during his last months on this planet. I hope where he is now, he can =
run in the fields, smell the flowers, roll in the mud, do everything he =
used to do.
Farewell Bismarck, I will always remember you. For me you will always =
be the best horse.
=20