Post by kelly on Sept 24, 2012 19:29:04 GMT -5
My Rock passed away on August 27th. I had him since he was four. He was a scared, skinny, hyper OTTB with two starts in his career. I was told he won his first start and ran away with his jockey in his 2nd start. They told me he was pulled off the track after that. 
Rock took 6 months to make eye contact with me, but I remember that day like it was yesterday. Our progress was painfully slow but it was the only way with him.
We did dressage shows at age 6 and started eventing at age 7. He did very, very well when he was on and not so much when I couldn't stay in the saddle. I never rode a horse with such a kick over a jump before. It was the rare rail that came down in stadium.
He had a difficult stomach with many small colics. He once had an impaction colic that landed him in the hospital for 2 weeks. My vet had never had one go that long. He had scoliosis and needed regular chiropractic treatments. But through it all he had a big heart and tons of try.
In 2001 he had a gas colic that required surgery. We bought our horse property after that and in 2002 I brought him home. I still did some riding but it was tough without an arena and he was still a high-strung guy who needed consistency. I finally retired him for good in 2005.
He enjoyed retirement and had no more colic episodes. One day this past August I went to feed and thought he looked "funny". I couldn't quite place my finger on it but it was like he was tucked up. He ate and moved OK though stiff. I scheduled the chiropractor thinking it was his back but my gut told me to get the vet out first. She pulled into my drive and stopped her truck in its tracks when she saw him. She just stared. She had just floated his teeth the month before and said he didn't even look like the same horse. After evaluating him, she said she needed to do some research. It was as if both hind suspensory ligaments were failing.
She called me and said it's somewhat rare in retired horses, especially a case with such a rapid onset, but it did appear that the mechanisms in the ligaments were losing their elasticity. She suggested stall rest and pain meds and standing wraps to see if we could get some healing. Four days later and he was worse, much worse. He no longer laid down and seemed to be in extreme discomfort. She said there was nothing else to be done for a guy like him and we let him go. I think he was ready.
Sorry for the novel. I don't think I ever shared his story here before.
These are some of my favorite pictures:
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockTomora2000.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockTomora1999.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockJacksonHole2000-2.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockJacksonHole2000.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockHighPrairie2004.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockHighPrairie2000.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockWindyWyoming1999.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockHeadShot-2.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/HeadShot.jpg
Rock took 6 months to make eye contact with me, but I remember that day like it was yesterday. Our progress was painfully slow but it was the only way with him.
We did dressage shows at age 6 and started eventing at age 7. He did very, very well when he was on and not so much when I couldn't stay in the saddle. I never rode a horse with such a kick over a jump before. It was the rare rail that came down in stadium.
He had a difficult stomach with many small colics. He once had an impaction colic that landed him in the hospital for 2 weeks. My vet had never had one go that long. He had scoliosis and needed regular chiropractic treatments. But through it all he had a big heart and tons of try.
In 2001 he had a gas colic that required surgery. We bought our horse property after that and in 2002 I brought him home. I still did some riding but it was tough without an arena and he was still a high-strung guy who needed consistency. I finally retired him for good in 2005.
He enjoyed retirement and had no more colic episodes. One day this past August I went to feed and thought he looked "funny". I couldn't quite place my finger on it but it was like he was tucked up. He ate and moved OK though stiff. I scheduled the chiropractor thinking it was his back but my gut told me to get the vet out first. She pulled into my drive and stopped her truck in its tracks when she saw him. She just stared. She had just floated his teeth the month before and said he didn't even look like the same horse. After evaluating him, she said she needed to do some research. It was as if both hind suspensory ligaments were failing.
She called me and said it's somewhat rare in retired horses, especially a case with such a rapid onset, but it did appear that the mechanisms in the ligaments were losing their elasticity. She suggested stall rest and pain meds and standing wraps to see if we could get some healing. Four days later and he was worse, much worse. He no longer laid down and seemed to be in extreme discomfort. She said there was nothing else to be done for a guy like him and we let him go. I think he was ready.
Sorry for the novel. I don't think I ever shared his story here before.
These are some of my favorite pictures:
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockTomora2000.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockTomora1999.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockJacksonHole2000-2.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockJacksonHole2000.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockHighPrairie2004.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockHighPrairie2000.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockWindyWyoming1999.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/RockHeadShot-2.jpg
i30.photobucket.com/albums/c335/kelwalters/HeadShot.jpg
