Everything Horses and Livestock® Magazine Feb 2019 Vol 4 Issue 1

Everything Horses and Livestock Magazine ®

On October 27, 2019, they once again made the journey to the Owl Hoot Spook ride in Vinita. The weather was almost perfect, maybe even a little on the warm side. Miles vetted in with all “A”s, was calm and well behaved, and had a great body condition score of 5. The following day, Miles was eating and drinking well throughout the ride. He was actually so easy going and relaxed that Whitney was almost worried something might be wrong. When they crossed the finish line, it was already dark. Whitney held her breath as Dr. Jim Baldwin conducted his final check, ensuring that Miles met the AERC criteria of being declared “fit to continue”. Finally, Dr. Baldwin looked at her with a nod and a smile, and said the words every endurance rider loves to hear, “Congratulations! You have a completion!” Ironically, two years prior (almost to the day), Dr. Baldwin had been the one sympathetically shaking his head and voicing his concern regarding the potentially grave prognosis after examining Miles’ swollen, sore right front leg. There were a few tears, several hugs, and couple huge

sighs of relief after hearing that their completion was official. Miles even gave Whitney a hug by curling his neck around her as if he knew what they had done. They were now officially an “endurance rider” and an “endurance horse”! At last, it was time for Miles to get some pampering and a big bucket of his Total Equine with lots of apples, carrots and anything else his heart desired. Needless to say, they both slept quite well

that night! To top it off, the next morning, they looked like they were ready to hit the trail again. Miles was bright, energetic, moving beautifully sound and his legs were cold and tight - one would never have guessed the challenges they had endured along their journey during the two years prior!

Everything Horses and Livestock® | February 2019 | EHALmagazine.com 8