Remembering To Have Fun

I'm going to skip ahead a few years.   By now we had turned things in the right direction.  We had some horses in some of the big national futurities, we had won a few events, we overcame some significant setbacks, and I was proud of what we had accomplished.

We created a business, the business we have today.  We worked very hard to make this work.  When we didn't have a horse business, I road 4 or 5 times a week.  Last year I only rode Sensational Sara, one of our broodmares,  twice and she wasn't happy about it!  She figured that after her fourth baby her riding career was over.  It's like any other small business.  You have to work hard to establish your business, and once established, you have to work twice as hard to keep it going.  However, every now and again I remember why we started this business and why I love being around horses and the people that work in the industry.

Today I'll tell you about the most fun I ever had at a horse show.    There was a point when we had two brood mares and two show horses.  One show horse was mostly the responsibility of my trainer.  Her name was One Sensational Diva; she was known as Bambi in our house.  She has had a wonderful career, and even though she is 9 or 10, she still shows today.  In fact, a young lady just won a Pinto Horse Association World Championship on her this past week.  The other show horse was Charlies My Daddy.   We called her Maria, and she was my horse but everyone loved her.  She is a broodmare now and is owned by a friend of ours that lives in Texas, but back then I rode her whenever I went to the barn.

Everytime I would go to a show to ride Maria I would learn something new.  I began at the lowest level of riding, Novice Amateur.  This meant I didn't have enough points, accumulated by placings in events, to qualify as an amateur.  I was happy about this because most amateurs are pretty good riders and at the beginning I was not.   We had been to the Tom Powers Triple Challenge Futurity the year before, and that was pretty eventful.  My trainer won the 3 year old Color Breed futurity against many very nice horses, on Bambi.    I tried showing her and she ran off at a gallop and I ended up watching the class from the center of the ring.  This was just a little embarrassing!  Then I showed Maria in a quarter horse class and we actually did well.  But, during the lineup I let Maria reach down and grab a mouthful of grass, got marked down, and we lost the class.  I loved that horse but looking back maybe I did spoil her a little!

So it's now Memorial Day weekend the following year.  Every Memorial Day there is a big Michigan Paint Horse Association event in Mason, Michigan.  Mason is the home of the Ingam County Fairgrounds and they have a very nice show facility.  There are ample stalls, there is a nice indoor show arena, and there were several very large outdoor practice arenas.  Going to this sight would give me plenty of places to practice, which I liked.  At this event, they also hosted a sweepstakes class for Open riders.  An Open rider is anyone good enough to compete at the highest level.  It could be a professional or a very good amateur.  Usually these events have the best horses and we wanted to enter Bambi in this event.  Mostly we wanted to know if her success the year before at the Tom Powers Futurity was a fluke or if she was really as good as we thought.

As I said, usually going to a horse show meant tagging along with four or five other amateurs, the trainer and his assistant and a half a dozen horses.  For this event it was just the trainer and me and Bambi and Maria.  We decided to practice as much as we could at home, drive up to Mason, about 2 hours away, on a Friday night.  We let the horses settle in and came back out to practice on Saturday then began showing in the afternoon.  So here we are, two guys going to a horse show, with the hope of competing and doing well.

We were not what you would call detail oriented.   It became pretty clear to us that we didn't really think this through.    The first night went easily enough.  We got up early the next morning, met for breakfast at the hotel restaurant, then we left for the show grounds.  We arrived around 7:30 am, fed the horses, cleaned their stalls, set up the tack stall and went to the office to register the horses for their classes.  I showed Maria first, in the early afternoon, and my trainer showed Bambi a few classes later.  So far so good.  We saddled up the horses in their work gear and we went out to practice.  Both horses rode well.  We didn't have to lunge either horse, you could just hop on their backs and walk around for a few minutes to warm them up and let them see the sights.  They were great!  Not many people knew us yet, a few recognized us from some advertisements we had run the year before, but most people didn't have a clue.  A couple of the other trainers came by and said hello to our trainer, who they recognized.  They didn't know who I was, and that was just fine with me.  Most people on the grounds were much younger than me, and were better riders than me, but I didn't mind.  I was going to compete anyway and I was pretty proud of our horses because I knew they looked good.

Here is when the fun started.  The practice arenas were a little dusty and it was a warm day so the horses worked up a sweat and had dust that stuck to their sweaty sides, so we had to bath them before we could show them.  So we take off their saddles and blankets and go to give them their baths.   We had shampoo, but for Maria, who had a very thick and long mane and just a beautiful and full tail, we needed a conditioner.  I remembered that on the advice of a horse friend, I had asked my wife to purchase a particular type of women's hair dye the next time she went to the salon because in the box with the dye came a very effective hair conditioner.   She told me she also purchased shampoo for Maria and put it in a tote bag that I put in the storage compartment in the truck.  I assumed she had gone to Tractor Supply or the local Feed and Grain store and purchased one of the usual horse shampoos.  I was wrong.  Pam purchased shampoo for Maria (Pam also spoiled Maria) at her beauty salon.  She also purchased a hair sheen product.  These were all made by Paul Mitchell.   So here I am at the horse washing area of this facility washing the mane and tail of my horse with fairly high end beauty salon products.  One lady asked if I always those products on my horses, but I knew she was thinking this guy is nuts!

We got both horses cleaned up, we covered them in coolers, which is a blanket you drape over your horse when it is wet to soak up the moisture, and we put them in their stalls.  After a little while we went back, took off the coolers and began to get them ready for the classes.  We had to band the horses manes so we attempted to do this ourselves.  We started with Bambi.  The purpose of banding a mane is to make the horse's mane look neat and trim and to accentuate the line of their neck.  When my trainer and I tried to do this we did the exact opposite.  No two hair bands were the same.  Picture the horizon of an uneven mountain range and that's kind of how our banding looked.  Realizing we needed help, we tracked down a lady in our show barn that was banding manes for $35.  So, we hired her to do our horses.  She did Bambi in a snap.  It looked great and neat and we were all set.  Now for Maria.

As I mentioned earlier, Maria had a long flowing mane.  We had decided to let it grow long the year before because it was beautiful.  However, it required an expert groomer to band her mane correctly.  Normally, my trainer's assistant did this chore.  To this day, I think she is the best horse groomer I've ever worked with.  The lady we hired at the horse show brushed Maria's hair.  She even mentioned how soft and manageable it was.  I told her what I used and she laughed!  She said she didn't feel she could band her mane properly and she suggested that we just comb it out and show her as she was.  That's what we did.

Not long after this, we had the horses saddled and we had to get our show outfits on.  I brought along four or five neatly pressed and starched show shirts, a half a dozen ties, two hats and two pairs of boots.  My trainer brought about 100 shirts - I kid you not - and at least that many ties.  After we picked out what we were going to wear we went to put on our chaps.  By now, my chaps, which were always a tight fit, were too tight to zip up.  Putting on chaps is always a little awkward but when you can't get the zipper up it's embarrassing.  My trainer pointed out that he was not about to help me with my chaps.  I was on my own!  Stalled next to us was a nice couple and I asked for help.  The guy said he couldn't help but his wife said she would help.  Thank goodness for kind souls.  She didn't comment on how tight the chaps were, which I appreciated, and she got them zipped up.

I showed first and it was the best ride I ever had on Maria.  We had two firsts and a fifth in a 20 horse class.  A little later Bambi showed and she finished second in the Junior Western Pleasure.  Man that was fun and I can't express how excited I was.  Between the two horses we accumulated almost 30 points in two classes.  The following day was the Michigan Sweepstakes, which was an event that had a decent jackpot but more importantly, some top trainers brought their horses to compete in the class.  This time Bambi won!  My trainer came out of the pen smiling and I was elated.  We had a national level show horse.  This was unbelievable!!!  Just for good measure, I showed Maria the next day and I got a second in a class of 15.  This was a great show. It was fun, I met a lot of people, and we were gone for less than 3 days.  I look back on that show when I get down.  I will never forget how happy I was on the ride home.

Turning Things Around

If you've read my last few posts you know that my equine journey started out on some pretty rocky terrain.   I learned more than I ever thought there was to know and I experienced some glorious moments that would remain with me forever.   But there were all the problems.  It was such an emotional rollercoaster.  At this point it was either give up or turn this journey in a different direction.

To steal a line from the John Wayne move McClintock, I did some "thinkin' drinking," and I came to the conclusion that I had to try to get this right.  There was just too much upside.  My wife kept saying to me that if I really wanted to go on she was all for it.  In my mind I was already going to try, but the fact that she supported me was even better.

Up until know, I hadn't spent much on the actual horses.  I had spent a fortune on everything else, but not on the horses themselves.  The following point is important for everyone involved with horses to remember:  The Cost of The Horse Is The Cheap Part.  Repeat that to yourself several times and let it sink in.

Everyone hears stories like the California Chrome story of last year, where two everyday guys took one of their mares, that had very limited success, bred her to a bargain priced stallion and produced a multimillion dollar winner.  There were over 40,000 thoroughbreds born in the same year as California Chrome.  Your chances of having the same success are 0.0025%.  If you want to improve your odds of having a good horse, I believe you have to look for one who's bloodlines have the characteristics you desire.  You want one who's physical makeup, known as conformation, will stand up to the rigors of frequent riding.  Finally, you might want one that has a show record or has been ridden a lot so that you can learn from the horse.  This is what I set out to find for my next horse.

I wanted a Paint Horse.  I like many different breeds, but I really like Paints.  I already had a subscription to the American Paint Horse Association Journal and I had an online subscription to the APHA database.   The APHA Journal lists the top breeders, the top stallions, the top owners and many other pieces of data.  I decided to find the ten top breeders of performance horses and give them each a call.  I wanted to explain to them who I was and what I was looking for and see if they could help.  Some were cordial and were tolerant of my obvious "greenness," some were not cordial, and wanted to get me off the phone as quickly as possible.

After calling several other breeders I got around to calling Lynn Simons of Simons Show Horses.  If you're not a horse person you might not know who Lynn Simons was, and if you are in the horse world and you do know, please bear with me.  Lynn and his wife Andrea owned Simons Show Horses.  Their two daughters were leading youth amateur riders at the time.  Simons Show Horses owned then, and still own, Zippos Sensation.  Even back then, around 2002 or 2003, he was proving himself to be an extraordinary producer.   When I gave Lynn Simons my story and told him what I wanted to accomplish he began asking me a lot of questions.  Here's another life lesson, if you want to have an impact on people and connect with them, ask more and talk less.  Lynn had that skill.  By the end of the conversation he could of sold me the family dog, put a toy saddle on it and called it Secretariat.  I would of bought it.  That's not what happened.  Instead he told me he'd think about things and see if he had anything that would work for me; if he didn't he would send me to some other people that would have what I was looking for.  I said great and I told him I'd call him back next week.  At this point, the ball was in my court and I wasn't going to give it up by waiting for him to call me.  So a week later I called and again he was generous with his time.  He said he had several young prospects but they were not finished show horses and that they wouldn't be a good fit for me.  I asked him about the idea of buying several prospects, waiting for them to develop, and then pick one for me and sell the other two.  He thought I was getting ahead of myself, he explained the cost of doing that, the time it could take, and the risk that none of them would work out for what I wanted.  There are many great horse breeders that truly care about the successful placement of one of their horses with one of their customers.   At this point, he gave me the names of two trainers that had finished horses for sale and he said I should call them.

If you ask enough people in the horse world you will find out who can be counted on to put the needs of their clients first.  I was fortunate to find Lynn because at this point in my search because I had not asked anyone else for help.  He could have lead me astray but he did not.   In hindsight, I should have  taken the time after the loss of Liberty to get to know more people in the horse business.  I should have attended more shows.  Attendance at most breed shows is free.  Within a 250 mile radius of our house are many large or very large shows.  I could have attended many and just walked around.  When you watch the shows you can see which horses are best prepared.  You can see the trainers that take care of their clients.  You can walk through the stall areas and see which stalls are clean and neat.  Which horses simply look the part of a show horse.   Keep in mind that for trainers, they are working during a show.  If there is some down time, usually there are some breaks in the action, you can politely approach the trainers and ask them about their program.  This is a good way to learn if you are a good fit for the trainer and the trainer a good fit for you.

Another thing to remember about my dealings with Lynn Simons is that I never forgot his helpfulness.  When someone in any business extends you a courtesy, you will always remember them.  When it came time for me to expand my horse herd, the first place I called was Simons Show Horses.  Over the years, I've been a loyal client of theirs, buying some of the best horses I've ever owned from them.  There are many wonderful people in the horse business.  There are also some that aren't so wonderful.  If you take the time to learn, as I've suggested, you won't have to rely on dumb luck like I did to find someone that was willing to help.

Back to the horse journey.  At this point I'm already feeling like I'm making progress and the road is getting smoother.  Both trainers that I was referred to were nice people and they both had horses that would work for me.  The first trainer had a mare and a gelding that were show horses.  I had it in my head that I didn't want a mare, I wanted a gelding.  This gelding, however, had a minimal amount of white and I really wanted a horse that looked like a paint horse.  At this point I'm going to give you another phrase to repeat to yourself over and over, "Pretty Is As Pretty Does."  The horse I passed on went on to become a world champion and multiple futurity champion.  He might not have been the "prettiest" horse I'd ever seen, but he sure was a good horse.  I just couldn't see it.

I went to visit the next trainer and he had a barn full of horses for sale that were all proven, experienced show horses.  His approach was a little bit different in that he asked me my budget and then he asked me what I was looking for.  He said I'm going have you ride several horses so you can see what you get along with and what you feel comfortable on.  I thought this was sensible and I got to ride several horses, and I rode for most of the morning.  By the end of the first day I had picked out two that I liked and arranged to come back the next day and decide.  When I came back the two horses were in their stalls and I asked if i could get them ready myself.  This way I could see how they would be for me to get ready.  Both horses were great in the barn aisle.  They were polite, well mannered and obviously used to being handled.  They were both geldings and they each had reasonably long show records.  As I recall, they were both 6.  After a couple of rides I settled on one of the horses and we agreed on a price.  I read the purchase contract, this was the first of these I had seen.  I said I'd like a vet check done, which we arranged, and upon a thorough exam, which included a lot of x-rays of everything, I signed the contract, wrote the check and had him shipped home.

My new horse, his name was Woody, went to a new trainer that I had begun taking lessons with.  He was young but he was already winning.  He had several clients with very nice horses and they all spoke highly of him.  Also, he was close enough that I could drive to his facility and ride every day.  Although my horse turned out to be an average show horse performer, he was a perfect horse for me to learn with.  In the practice arena at the farm, he never acted mean or intolerant.  He was strong and healthy and he carried me around without any problem.  I learned proper techniques for improving his stride, for improving my posture and improving my ability to communicate with the horse.  We even let our very young grand children sit on his back in the barn and he was a perfect gentleman.  The funny thing is, when we sold him, he actually was in Horse & Rider magazine, twice, in a feature titled, Horses We'd Like To Own.

So remember when you are getting started there are a few key things to remember.  The cost of the horse is not as important as getting a good horse for your needs.  If you have to spend more to get what you need, take the time to save a little more money and then buy the right horse, it will be cheaper in the long run.  Take the time to learn as much as you can by attending shows, visiting barns, attending classes, and speaking to trainers and clients in programs that are doing what you want to be doing.  Seek out the advice of professionals in the equine industry.  As much as we've done and experienced I still seek out the advice of great equine professionals like our friends at Simons Show Horses, the Girls at BSB Quarter Horses, our trainers at Bauer Gooding Show Horses and Shane Dowdy Show Horses.  Our veterinarian has also been a great source of information, Countryside Animal Clinic in Wauseon, Ohio.  They have seen more than we will ever see and done more than we will do with horses.  Finally, remember don't fall in love with a horse just because it is pretty, and don't settle on a horse until you find what you want.  Until next time.

When The Stall Goes Empty

So the new horse, we'll call him Scout, was a hunt seater that did all around events.  We got along well enough and I rode him regularly.  On one ride, things were going well and I was getting the hang of the difference between the gentle lope of a western pleasure horse and the canter of a hunt seater.  My new western saddle was comfortable to ride in and I was enjoying the day.  We came around a corner - why does everything seem to happen when I am riding around a corner? -  and I felt the saddle slip underneath me.  The horse went left and my weight shifted right.  I grabbed for the mane but it was too late.  I fell off.  To make matters worse, the saddle had now shifted underneath Scout's belly.  It turned out that Scout had another event he could add to his repertoire, saddle bronc riding!  By the time he calmed down enough to let me cut the saddle off of him, he was a mess.  He had several small cuts around his legs, nothing serious, but they did draw blood.  He was lathered up in a heavy sweat, his eyes were as big as saucers, and his ears were laid flat back.  I could tell, at that very moment, our relationship had been compromised.

I hosed off Scout, checked him out thoroughly, tended to his cuts and scrapes, and all the while he laid his ears flat back.  He was trembling a little, but I tried my best to reassure him that I hadn't and wouldn't hurt him.  I put him in his stall, fed him and walked back to the arena to get the saddle.  Now I was mad!  Really mad!  I saw what caused the saddle to slip.  The off billet, that's the strap on the saddle that holds the cinch (Google it), had completely shredded.  It was made out of industrial nylon and the fabric just failed.  This was a product defect and either the horse or I could have been really hurt.  I threw the saddle in my car's trunk and drove straight to the tack shop.  I showed the salesperson the saddle and explained what happened and I told her I wanted all of the straps replaced with good leather.  She brought out the manager, who could tell I was angry, and he apologized and asked if I could leave the saddle overnight.  They would clean it and replace the straps at no cost.  I returned to the store the next day, hoping the manager was true to his word and he was.  The saddle had been cleaned, the nylon straps were replaced with leather straps, and he again apologized.  He also told me he called the saddle maker and told him of the problem.  The saddle maker said he quit using nylon because he had several customers have the same problem.  I wish the manager hadn't told me that because I immediately thought the saddle maker should have had a recall.  I kept picturing the sign in the barn that said if you or your horse get hurt or die, it's your fault, but in this case it wasn't my fault!

Now to get back to riding.  I wanted Scout to trust me so I went out to the barn for five or six more rides, but he never trusted me.  Every time we rode he danced and pranced.  He wanted me off his back.  I could sense the anxiety in him and as hard as I tried, it eventually passed on to me.

I spent a week away from the barn, thinking about everything that had happened.  I would dwell on the negatives of losing the first horse to an freak accident, having a replacement that was not my style of horse, and then having a riding accident that wasn't my fault or the horse's.  Quitting would have been easy at this point.  It hadn't worked out the way I thought it would.  Yet, I remembered how great the feeling was when it was going well - when the horse and I were dance partners and we moved fluidly around the arena.  There just isn't anything else like it.  Trainers ride 10-20 horses a day, every day, for years.  Riding is a job for them.   Some horses are mean and nasty, some are dull and listless, and others just aren't athletic at all.  But every now and again, trainers come across that horse that reminds them why they started riding.  They share the same feeling I had; it is a joy unlike all others.  There had to be a way to get that back.

Every Saturday afternoon, during the college football season, I would sit in the garage, where I had installed a tv and a space heater.  I'd open the garage door and set up some lawn chairs and turn on the Notre Dame football game.  My neighbor across the street owned a delicatessen and he'd come over with sandwiches and other neighbors would bring pop and beer.  I'd provide cigars and the garage transformed itself into the neighborhood sports bar.  This particular Saturday, as I'm telling my horse riding stories to my friends, one of them said to me that I should buy my own horse.  The only two things I could think of at this moment was he was absolutely correct and how am I going to break this to my wife!  The game ended, I don't remember if Notre Dame won (they probably did because Lou Holtz was the coach then and he always had winning teams), and I cleaned up.  Pam popped out to the garage and she said she heard us talking about me buying a horse and she was all for it.  Ok, let's go!

I researched horses; I researched trainers.  I found a horse; he was a 6 year old gelding on the other side of the state.  I was told he had some training and he was safe to ride, the price was right, and we agreed that my wife and I would drive out the next weekend to take a look.  In the meantime, I opened a copy of a local horse magazine and I called several trainers.  I also called Michigan State University and enrolled in an evening class on Equine Management.  I wasn't going to make the same mistakes I had made in the past.

We went out to see the horse and he was pretty, and kind, and he was ridden up to us by a ten year old girl.  He was a palomino paint horse with blue eyes.  His name was Liberty, and I was hooked.  The seller agreed to deliver the horse to any trainer in the state and I told her I'd like a vet check done before I buy him.  Over the next week I called a vet, who went out and examined the horse, took some x-rays of his legs, examined him for lameness, checked his feet with hoof testers and pronounced him sound.  I settled on a trainer who was in between our house and Lansing, which at the time this was about an hour's drive.  This way, I'd be able to check on the horse's progress while the trainer got him ready for me, and then I could go to class.  I agreed to give the trainer 90 days, which was about how long the semester lasted.  By the end of the semester he should be good to go and I would know much more than I did before the class started.

Everything was going well.  The class was a great learning experience.  Michigan State has a wonderful equine program.  They breed Arabians and Belgians.  They have a college equestrian team, a judging team, several nice barns, several arenas, a wonderful veterinarian school and some great instructors.  I couldn't wait to go to class every week.  The drive didn't matter; I soaked it all in. I would call the trainer to check on Liberty and she would give me updates.  Some were more positive than others, but she was hopeful.  Finally, the 90 days were up and I began riding.  I wanted to see how far along he had gotten.

The trainer tried to temper my enthusiasm and asked that I take a few lessons at a walk and a trot.  I reluctantly agreed.  She explained he didn't feel quite right at a lope and she wanted to have a vet check him out.  Of course, I said yes.  She had a vet come out and the vet called me and said I think your horse is sore in his hocks and I'd like to inject them to make him more comfortable.  This process is similar to a baseball player getting a cortisone shot to improve the joint mobility in a shoulder.  The injection is a often a combination of a steroid and hyaluronic acid.  The vet said he'd need a couple days of rest and then he could get back to work.

The trainer called and reported that the shots made him better but not perfect.  She wanted to bring out a chiropractor.  Yes, there are horse chiropractors.  I had learned about them in the evening class, but I had never seen one work on a horse and I was curious.  I asked to be present when the chiropractor came out and the trainer set the appointment.   The chiropractor examined the horse and said he had lesions along his back and his hips were drooping.  He said he could adjust the horse's back and hips, but it would take several sessions.  He also suggested acupuncture.  Now this was new. I hadn't seen or heard of this, but if it would make my horse more comfortable so I could get to enjoy him, I was game.  After six treatments, and a thousand dollars, the chiropractor said the treatments were completed.  The horse could get back to light work at a walk and a jog, eventually working up to a lope after two weeks.

The trainer would ride the horse three to four times a week and I would go out on the weekends and ride.  He felt a bit more comfortable, but still not quite right, but I was thinking he just needed to get back into shape.  At this point I've owned Liberty for almost six months and I've hardly gotten to ride.  One day the phone in my office at work rang and the trainer was on the line.  She never called my office so I knew something was wrong.  She told me that Liberty had begun tripping as she would walk him down the aisle.  I asked her to provide more details and she said he would start walking and he would fall to his knees.  After a second, he would get up and walk on.  Then he would trip again.  She said she had called the vet out and I said I'd drive out to meet them. About an hour and a half later we all met at the barn and the vet couldn't find anything immediately wrong, but she suspected several awful sounding diseases.  She suggested that we haul the horse to the Michigan State Large Animal Clinic the next day for a thorough exam and tests.

I took the day off work, met the trainer at the barn in the morning, and she hauled Liberty to the clinic.  I drove my car, thinking I'd be able to get to work in the afternoon.  The clinic is like a hospital for horses, with an operating room, diagnostic equipment, and everything that you'd expect a horse hospital to have.  We checked him in and after a short while a veterinarian came by to examine our horse.  The vet listened to us explain the symptoms and he asked us to take Liberty to see a vet that was visiting from Europe.  He was in the building next door, and that building had an arena where Liberty could be lunged so the vet could see him move.  We led the horse to the next building and walked in to meet the vet.  He was very pleasant and explained that he owned horses and he competes in dressage.  I always like to work with vets that own horses; I don't know if it helps but I feel a connection that I find comforting.  He had his assistant put the horse on a lunge line and had her lunge Liberty.  After no more than three minutes of lunging, Liberty looked like he had regressed to where he was constantly on the wrong lead and often had the front legs on one lead and the back on the other.  The vet said I'd like to examine him a little more and he put him in cross ties.  He felt the horses legs, back and neck.  He turned the horse's head from side to side and up and down.  Then he brought out a small tool that looked like the thing your doctor has to check the reflexes in your knees.  He tapped Liberty's sides and noticed a different response at different points.  Then he stopped and turned to me and asked if my horse had ever broken his neck.  I was stunned.  He had never broken his neck, that I knew.  I said I had a vet check done when I purchased him and there was no evidence of abuse or neglect, and my trainer said he had never been injured while he was in her care.  The vet said I think your horse has a neurological problem, it could be a small problem or a big problem, but the only way to know was to x-ray his neck.

My stomach was sick.  I couldn't stop petting the horse.  The vet had to ask me to step back or he'd have to put a lead vest on me so he could take the x-ray.  I made him give me a vest because I wasn't leaving my horse.  The x-ray revealed the problem.  The third vertebrae was almost twice as large as the other vertebras.  Liberty had wobbler syndrome.  The vet explained that he was partially paralyzed and in a lot of pain because the joint was pressing on his spinal chord.  He calmly and kindly explained that there was no treatment for this syndrome, at the stage that Liberty had, and his prognosis was bleak.  The vet said he would eventually become unable to stand or walk.  The vet asked to have another vet run an electronic test, similar to, but not exactly like, an electrocardiogram.  They wouldn't check the heart, but they would check his nerves for normal activity.  This would confirm the diagnosis.  I nodded my approval.  Within ten minutes there were ten veterinary students and another vet in the room.  They were attaching small aluminum foil looking attachments to the horse's side and hooked them by wires to an electronic machine with a screen.  On Liberty's right side, there was a normal sine wave pattern.  The second vet said that it was a good sign, but they needed to check the other side.  Repeating the procedure on the other side, there was no sine wave.  Instead, there were random light pulses that reminded me of a bad tv signal.  The vet said this meant his nerves weren't able to read the signals from his brain because of the pressure and likely damage to the spinal chord.  The diagnosis was confirmed and both vets explained that the disease was common in several breeds, including Paint Horses.  They said there were some surgeries that could be done to fuse the joints but in Liberty's case the damage to the spinal chord was too severe, he would never be "cured," and he would always be in pain.  They said the humane thing to do was to put the horse down.  In a state of shock, I signed some papers, donating his body to the school for research.  After many condolences from the vets and the students, they left the trainer and I alone with Liberty.  I did not want to talk, and she didn't know what to say, so I thanked her for everything and I said she could go.  I'd be alright.

How could this happen?  Did I do something wrong?  Did I let the horse down?  I hugged him and walked him down the aisle where an attendant was waiting.  I remember her asking me if I wanted his halter, and I said no.  As she walked him away I turned around to compose myself and all I saw was an empty stall.

Horses are a companion animal.  You become attached to them and they become attached to you.  They know their surroundings and they learn the routine of their everyday life with you.  When tragedy strikes, as it had for the second time for me, you have doubts about whether to go on with this pursuit.  In many cases, people and horses can be partners together for many years without any incidents.  There are no serious injuries or illnesses, there are unexpected phone calls, there are no disappointments.  What if that's not the case for you?  What if your horse gets hurt?  What if your horse becomes ill?  Are you prepared for the heartache, the feeling that you've let your companion down.  Are you prepared for the expense of treating an ill or injured horse?  You can buy insurance for some medical emergencies but usually not all.  Do you know what to look for so you can see that your horse is having a problem?  Can you see the horse's gait is not quite right?  Can you see the horse laying down more than normal or rolling more than normal?  Do you notice if he's eating less or drinking less water than normal?  Can you take his pulse and his temperature?  Do you know how to give him a shot?  Is your trailer ready at all times to rush the horse to the equine hospital?  This isn't the pleasant side of horse ownership, however, it is likely that if you own horses for a long enough period of time you will have to have answers to these questions.  Your horse relies on you.  Yes they weigh over 1,000 pounds and they can survive in the wild but your horse doesn't live in the wild.  Your horse relies on you for his care and feeding.  Your horse needs you to be a horseman or horsewoman.  If you find out that you don't want to deal with these challenges then find something else.  Buy a boat, golf, garden, swim, anything that doesn't require you to have another living being dependent upon your ability to be it's caretaker.   If, however, the desire to share your time with a horse won't leave you, then you will face these challenges as calmly and resolutely as you can.  You will be there for your horse, no matter how difficult the circumstance.  If you feel this way, then you are on your way to being a horseman or horsewoman.