----- Original Message ----- From: "Janice McDonald" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> well, ok, at the risk of stirring things up... i just feel its odd > that a horse so valuable, so well trained... would spook and > throw a rider and then bolt like a maniac for the barn. I don't know Janice..... in the past two years I have had three friends within 2 miles from my home lose good horses to freak accidents. One was an Icelandic this past fall who somehow got out at night and was struck by a car. Another was a wonderful hunter jumper who was out on a trail ride with its owner and two of my friends, the horse spooked, rider came off, and the loose horse went to cross a 2 lane road to get home and was struck by a car and had to be put down, and the third was about as freaky an accident as you can imagine. A friend of mine was given an Andalusian gelding. She had her two mares and a paint gelding in a field together. She isolated the Andalusian for 3 weeks within sight of the other horses. Then after three weeks she introduced him to her herd. She stayed right there to watch and things were going well. I was driving by the farm and saw him with the gang and stopped in. She was in her barn after feeding and was just putting her buckets away. She told me she was going to remove him from the field for the night because there seemed to be a bit of tension building. While we were in the barn - less than 5 minutes - we heard a car honking its horn and we ran outside. We will never know why, but the paint had decided to try to jump her 5 foot oak board fence, not cleared it. and become impaled on a fence post. By the time we brought down the fence and got him off, he had been eviscerated. It was truly one of the most horrifying things I have ever experienced.... and remember I am a pediatric trauma nurse. And that owner didn't rush anything, was truly being careful and tuned in to her horses, and things still went wrong. These last two horses were great animals, well trained and well cared for. The Icelandic was not as trained, but well loved and the owners thought that their fencing was secure. Personally I have followed Teddy O'Connor's career. Amazed at the heart and drive of that pony and pleased to see that the American horse world was being shown that 16-17 hand horses aren't the only great athletes in the horse world. I certainly understand your point though about the life and perceived value of show horses and I think it is well made. But I do believe that even wonderful horses who have good trainers can end up in freak accidents.... it is truly the nature of the beast. Jacki
