Loss Is Inevitable

As a trainer, I've seen accidents happen to other riders, and had more than my share of bangs and beats as well. I feel like it's time to share this very personal, very sad story.Sometimes, bad things happen, even to the best of us.
Some years ago, when I was just starting out on my own;I received a curly horse called Traveler. I was still a very young man, just barely out of my teens. I just called him Larry (for the stooge with the wild hair). He had previously been broken, the people just wanted him rode for thirty days or so. I rode him for six days. The folks were having trouble mounting him so that is the first thing I did was work on making him stand while mounting. The next few days we worked on neck reining and crossing water. He was coming along great. He had the makings of a truly fine horse. On the sixth day, My sister, my wife and I went for a ride. I rode Larry over to a friends place so I could meet them there. They were going to ride Molly and Traveler(another fine foxtrotter) . We had a real good ride, Larry did real well. When we got back to my friends place, I took care of the other horses and left again. About a mile down the road, Larry got real bad stove up and would do no more than walk. I got off and led him for about a mile and a half. He was getting progressively worse, so I turned him and took him to a local barn about a half mile from my position (there were no celular phones in those days). I put him in a stall and rubbed him down and went to call the vet and my father. My father was on his way so I lead him out of his stall. He would hardly lead all the way down there and now was no exception. He got clear of the door of the stall and laid down in the sand of the arena. He would not get up. When my father got there he looked at him and thought I had ridden him too hard. The diagnosis was colic. When the owner of the barn got home, it quickly changed to a twisted gut. We had already called the owners who called their own vet, (as we could not get one to answer the phone) and they came right over. The vet arrived shortly after and quickly pronounced it as "tying up" or severe Azoturia (Exertional Rhabdomyolisis), a muscle condition that causes severe muscle damage. The Amish used to call it "Monday Morning Sickness". The vet said they were unsure what caused it, as little was known about it. The eventual verdict was that they would put him down. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I have never seen a horse do that before and I hope I never do again. I was in agony too. Here was a creature that had just given me his heart and soul, and now was laying there, dying on the floor of the barn. What a cruel thing is a fate that would subject us to these things. I guess it is all over now, but I cannot help feeling bad. He was a good friend while I had him. There really is no moral to this story, everything was done that could be done, I just wanted to share the story of a great friend, with a greater heart.


Cinch Marks: Misadventures and Tall Tales From a Self Described Curmudgeon can be purchased here