Baby Boomer Dreams - Dandy's Story - After Nationals Part 3

Part 1

I will never forget that day nor the look on the Mexican's face as he spoke those words to me. Actually this moment made such a big impact on my life I still remember exactly where it happened and what I was doing before and after this revelation from the groom.

I was standing with Dandy in the cross ties grooming the horse. I was on the horse's left side just getting ready to get the saddle pads when that groom came up. As he fumbled with the dictionary I remember thinking how important this must be for him to make such an effort.

Normally the man seemed quite content with the language barrier between he and others at the barn. He could speak just fine with his Mexican buddies and the horses. An occasional "Hola!" was sufficient for most of the boarders . I had never even seen the man try to communicate past that phrase and "no speak a English" although I did know he had a definite fondness for my horse.

The man was trying so intently to communicate with me it was clear that he was really concerned about my Arabian horse. We stumbled through me trying to find out how much "too much" sleeping actually was. From what I could tell my horse was pretty much sleeping if he wasn't eating or when I was at the barn. There was no way I could not take notice of this warning. In the morning I'd call the vet.

In the meantime my mind raced with the possibilities and I began to add together other things in my horse's behavior that concerned me. Falling in the horse trailer, our training difficulties and the fact the horse now carried his tail crooked when he had perfect tail carriage for his first 3 years were at the top of my list. I had been hounding my vet with that information for years.

Just in the last week my horse was doing this funny thing at the lope. Sometimes it felt like he might fall or something. It only happened a few times. It didn't really matter which direction we were loping nor riding straight or in a circle. It was an awful feeling to be riding and have that "thing" happen. The horse would catch himself before he ever would fall but it was still unnerving.

Then that night the groom spoke to me as I was riding, my horse added one more thing to the list. When I asked him to back up, he stumbled. The horse didn't fall down but I'll bet his hocks nearly tagged the ground before he caught himself. It was a terrifying feeling and my heart sank.

I had never really noticed the horse sleeping a lot at home. All of my horses tend to nap in the late morning. Also, they usually get turned out during the day and only a couple of the mares were prone to napping then. The horse did sleep a lot a horse shows, but I'd thought it was because he was tired. My first show horse used to sleep lots there. In the time since I'd started work, I didn't really know what the horse was doing during the day. Who knows how long this might have gone undetected had I not moved the horse to Feature Farm.

Putting all these things together now with the continual sleeping, I was beginning to suspect whatever was plaguing my horse was neurological in nature. Just the very thought made my heart sink. I knew full well the prognosis for horses with neurological disorders but it sure would explain a lot of things.

To be continued.................

The Vet Call

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EPM