--- Renee Martin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
> Oh Denise, he was gorgeous! What happened to him
> when you were discharged?
> Were you able to take him with you to the States?
Hi Renee:
Gosh, I wish I could have. I really tried to get
Kiff, and his son, Kelly to the states but
piroplasmosis did me in. I contacted Miami, port of
entry at the time for them and found out all the
particulars, expense, etc. It was do-able and I was
ready. Unfortunately when the blood results came back
they were all carriers of piroplasmosis. I would
imagine most horses on Antigua probably are. The
vector is a tick and it has been pretty much
erradicated in the states. They did tell me that
there was a treatment but (can't remember now how
much) at the time it was super expensive. The kicker
was that they had to be in a tick free environment for
an extended period of time before coming to the
states, be retested and when the total was presented,
way over the top for me. This was over 20 years ago
so have no idea what they could do now. I was so
frustrated over the whole thing, instead of coming to
the states, I put in for Ascension and got it. I
ended up spending 10 years down below the equator on a
horseless island. They were not out of my heart,
however. We had to land on Antigua for a 2 hour
refeuling every time we went to the states or return
from the states, which was usually a few times a year
and I always went down in the field to visit with my
horses. (some of them anyway). The man that I sold
Kiff to lived on the base and worked at the radar as
well. I nearly always got on Kiff bareback and went
for a short ride around the base before I had to board
the plane. I realize there were folks that had to sit
next to me that did not appreciate the horsey aroma I
carried with me but it did not bother me at all. The
trip from Asension to the coast of FL took 12 hours in
the air on a C-141 aircraft by the way. Gosh, just
writing about this brings back so many memories I
thought I had nearly forgotten. Seems like a lifetime
ago. Kiff was a very kind and wonderful horse and
completely dismissed any fears I had about owning and
riding a stallion. My Icelandic stallion, Skyfaxi is
the closest thing I have found that could compare to
Kiff. I will never have to say goodbye to him, thank
goodness.
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