Re: Legal Drugs

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 98-10-28 22:28:39 EST, Merryben@aol.com writes:

<< They are not always overridden.  Sometimes, horses just die.  As a friend
of
 mine with more than twice the miles I have [and I have almost 8,000] says, if
 you don't want a horse to die, don't ride it.  Even better, don't own
 it.....Maryben >>

This is all too true.  Every time something bad happens at a ride, folks try
to look for what the rider did wrong, but sometimes the rider didn't do
ANYTHING wrong.  One of the saddest cases I ever saw was a horse that was
ridden by a lady who liked to take her time at the rides and enjoy the
scenery.  They only went to a few rides a year.  The mare was middle-aged.
She vetted in beautifully.  She spent an uneventful night in camp.  As they
left the next morning, I can still remember her marching along at an eager
walk, and the rider proudly hollering back to me, "Look she doesn't fight me
leaving camp anymore."  They left after everyone else had gone, intending to
do about a 9 hour 50.  Two or three miles from the start, the mare dropped
dead.  She had an aneurysm in her brain.  She would likely have dropped dead
in the pasture at home.  Random bad things can just as easily happen at a ride
as they can at home.  Of course there are horses that are overridden, but we
can't look under that rock to solve every problem that occurs.

Heidi Smith, DVM