The other side of “not today” Logic, reason, order. Set goals, solve problems, make a plan, have a
routine, check off the list. T is works for most things in life, right? It works for training and conditioning, business and professional goals, household and farm management.
And then one day, something happens, and all of that rational behavior fl ies out the window. Most of us will struggle, fi ght to hang onto that logic. We will control this situation…we will not give in to our emotions. We will reason our way through this, and we will fi gure out the most logical, rational, compassionate and humane course of action. Right? Ha. Trainer Beth Barritt, known for her military-like discipline, prag- matic common sense and devotion to the rational principles of dres- sage, was not acting like herself, but then again, neither was her 12-year-old Hanoverian mare Bela. As far as almost everyone around her was concerned, Beth was acting like an irrational, emotional school girl with no regard for the welfare of her horse. Simply put, Beth was not acting like Beth. Of course, it didn’t start out that way. T ese situations never do.
T ey always start with something seemingly innocuous and eas- ily fi xable. Something that can be incorporated into the daily rou- tine and checked off the list. And so it started with Bela. It was the middle of summer of 2010, and Bela had itchy skin. Nothing that unusual. A little oral steroids should have, theoretically, relieved that. But instead, Bela foundered. Founder, or laminitis, is described in T e Merck Veterinary Manual:
“an infl ammation or edema of the sensitive laminae of the hoof…in refractory cases, rotation of the pedal bone is a common sequela that may progress to perforation of the sole. T e disease is a local mani- festation of a more generalized metabolic disturbance, and the hoof problems are classifi ed as acute, subacute, or chronic.” In layman terms, founder is the result an anatomical – and thus permanent – change in the position (i.e. rotation) of the coffi n bone. What does this mean, ultimately? While most of the easily accessi- ble, digitally available research on laminitis doesn’t lay out the bottom line, one does succinctly, articulating in cold digital ink what every horse person already knows and fears about founder: that founder is a “‘crippling lameness’ that shortens horses’ working lives and some- times requires euthanasia.” (Laminitis Fact Sheet,
hehorse.com, a respected web resource for equine health care.) Which means Beth had the same reaction that every one of us
would have…a single swear word that we cannot repeat in print. However, in the beginning, Beth – the competent, experienced farm manager that she is (and if you don’t know Beth, you know
someone just like her, or you are just like her yourself) – tackled this with practical resolve. After all, in the beginning, it was just simple laminitis, easily managed, and surely would be alleviated as the ste- roids dissipated. But the X-rays showed that the coffi n bone was ro- tated. T ere’s that unprintable word again. By the fall of 2010, it was clear that Bela, if she could recover, could
never again be ridden. What was not clear was, if she were to recover, what kind of quality of life could she possibly have? And this is where the pragmatic self that can assess problems
logically, and reasonably analyze options and solutions, comes to a shrieking collision with reality. What? T at does not make sense. After all, the reality of the situa- tion is that Bela’s prognosis for any kind of comfortable quality of life is slim, isn’t it? At this point, isn’t the reasonable option, the humane and compassionate option, euthanasia? Maybe. Maybe putting her down is – or could be – the best solution. But the reality of the situation is…that day for putting her down is not today. Maybe tomorrow, but not today. And all we can ever do, in dealing with equine, canine or human
crises, is to deal with the situation immediately before us, day by day. And so together, on a daily basis, Beth and her vet tackled the
question: is today “the” day? And, each day, the answer was no, today is not “the” day. And it was hard. T ere were times when Bela didn’t move for 12
hours, wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t drink. Perhaps hardest of all, Beth faced the withering criticism of friends, colleagues, clients, even family members. She was called callous, cold, and inhumane. Cruel. Our vets. T ose bastions of equine health knowledge and unpro- nounceable Latin medical terms…who knew they could be so…so human. When Beth would call her vet (and call she did, daily, sometimes it seemed hourly); he always took her call. No matter how hysterical she was, no matter how incoherent with sobbing (Beth, hysterical? Sobbing incoherently? ritt), her vet listened, day’s status, pointing
Beth Barritt? Yes, Beth Bar- reviewing with Beth that out the hopeful signs
when Beth found herself drowning in the damage. “His intuition about horses is uncanny,” explains Beth now. “He always saw something diff erent than what I saw.” Like Beth, the vet also faced the criticism of
12 | THE EQUIERY | DECEMBER 2011
800-244-9580 |
www.equiery.com
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