{ Be as ts of Burden }

was turned out in a lush grass field with five other geldings where he could graze all day and run at will. It all seemed to be working. At the same time, I started teaching him that he could use

his body for something other than running: that he could bend his neck and ribcage and relax his jaw; that he could walk, trot and canter without pulling at the bit. Eventually, I asked him to jump. Every request I made he complied with. When I groomed him at the end of our rides, he would nuzzle his head into the crook of my neck and rest it there. I began planning to enter us in competitions. But one

morning in May, three months after I had bought him, something went wrong. As Pilot was eating his breakfast, he stopped suddenly and stretched his neck toward the ground, coughing hard. He stood there, motionless, with his nose just above the ground, making a sound as if he was trying to swallow. I’d heard of this — a condition called esophageal

obstruction but commonly referred to as “choke” — but I’d never seen it. Choke occurs when a horse eats too fast and a wad of feed gets stuck in its throat. Pilot was trying desperately to cough the feed out. He could breathe, but he couldn’t swallow, and it was obvious he was in pain. I called Swandby, who arrived within the hour. She took

one look at Pilot and said, “Yep, it’s choke. Get me some warm water.” I held Pilot’s heavily sedated head as Swandby pumped

warm water through a long tube that she had snaked down his throat. The water was supposed to break apart the obstruction. But whenever she would push the water in, most of it would pour back out through his mouth, bringing with it the sweet smell of grass and grain that I normally found so comforting but now turned my stomach. Finally, the water flushed through, taking the feed with it. As Swandby packed up her things, she leveled her eyes at me. “I cleared probably a pound of feed from his esophagus, and it took over an hour. That’s not normal. My guess is this is going to happen again.” And it did … three more times in the space of three

months. The final time was late on a Saturday that September. I was gone, so Roach held Pilot for Swandby and then called to tell me that Pilot’s esophageal wall had weakened so much that Swandby worried that next time the tube would perforate it, causing a traumatic death. Roach took a deep breath. “Laura, Carol really thinks you should put him down, and I agree.” I was surprised at how ferociously my sobbing came. He

was only 5 years old and, aside from this, healthy. How could I possibly make the decision to end his life?

IT’S IMPoSSIBLE To TALk ABouT HoRSES WITHouT talking about money. For most Americans, horses — es- pecially racehorses — are a symbol of wealth and prestige. The owners of kentucky Derby thoroughbreds are pictured in their box seats on race day wearing designer clothes and jewelry, and often flanked by celebrities. But this isn’t the reality for most in the racing industry. “Most owners aren’t

20 The WashingTon PosT Magazine | MAY 30, 2010

wealthy,” said kimberly Clark, who trained racehorses for 20 years and now runs a rescue operation that placed more than 120 thoroughbreds last year. “The horse has to make enough money to support itself.” And the majority of racehorses earn their keep by running in claiming races. In a claiming race, a trainer can purchase (“claim”) a Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158