Re: sore, sore, sore

Brian Whatcott wrote:

> On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:59:39 +0100,
> green_knight@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 (Catja Pafort) wrote:
> 
> >Brian Whatcott wrote:
> >
> >
> >>  There is a dreadful tendency (which I think may be associated
> >>  with the nurturing habit of women even more than men)  to blame
> >> themselves for the lameness, sickness and death of their beloved
> >> horses.
> 
> ***
> >What has that to do with not being tolerant of neglect?   
> >_Call the ****ing Vet....
> 
> >Catja
> 
> 
> Sorry to hear about your recent loss, Catja.

Thanks. It hurts a lot - how could it not, after ten years with a horse
that was not always easy, but always the perfect horse (OK, I used to
joke I'd like one like that in sane and sound. The sane I got,
eventually, the sound, well, unfortunately you're not getting sound very
often when you take on a horse that had been worked hard by
inconsiderate owners and that quite likely had at least one significant
accident. He was sounder in my care than when I got him, other than the
last two months.)

He deteriorated very quickly, and it was obvious that his quality of
life would be compromised, and rather than wait until the bad days
outnumbered the good, I made the decision to let him go while he was
happily living out with two beloved mares; in great shape and top dog of
the herd. 

It was the right decision, no matter how much I miss him, but I miss the
healthy horse that would fly across fields, not one that walked
carefully and tried to save himself from aggravation. (Ever seen a horse
slide a back leg across the ground rather than pick it up? He only did
it the once while I was watching, but once was too much.)

So yes, I guess that at the moment I am a little bit angrier at people
who risk their horse's health than I used to be. On the laminitis front,
I've acted promptly and returned my horse to full working soundness, and
not just that, but he was able to live out pastured 24/7 without further
attacks. (And yes, I felt his feet and felt for a digital pulse all
through the spring, every spring, and for good measure the rest of the
year, too, despite him *not* having any symptoms... I wasn't going to
miss them.) On the other hand, I've watched the heartbreak of someone
who did *not* take her horse's somewhat cautious steps seriously; he
came down with a full-blown laminitis attack and had to be put down. I'm
aghast at the thought that anyone would risk that.

We lose them soon enough. Elderly bodies give out, freak accidents
happen, and sometimes the risks we take knowingly have bad consequences.
(Then again, you can't avoid all risks. Turning a horse out with another
horse that's shod, having barbed wire as some of the fencing of your
field, jumping fixed obstacles, trans****ting a horse, putting them in a
stable... sometimes all you can do is minimise the dangers and hope for
the best). 

I, for one, know that I did the best I could to keep my horse sound. I
would not like to speculate how I would have felt if I'd have to put
down a horse because I've neglected to look after him. Doing the right
thing is lousy enough without the knowledge that you could have
prevented it with a couple of easy measures.

It's a bit like having a horse vet checked before you buy it. It doesn't
necessarily mean that the vet will pick up everything that can go wrong
(mine didn't), but it will buy you peace of mind: you did your best to
ensure that you'd come home with a healthy horse. If a problem is subtle
enough that a vet didn't pick it up, it's subtle enough that you don't
have to beat yourself up thinking that you ought to have noticed it. 

Catja

-- 
writing blog @[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 http://beyond-elechan.livejournal.com