Conference noted::equitation

    Kathy,
    
    	I'm so sorry about the loss of your beloved Smokey!
    
    	What more can I say....
    
    Lorna
    

    Oh, I'm so sorry Kathy.  You have certainly had your share of grief
    these past months.  It was hard enough losing one horse when I lost
    my first one to colic ten years ago and I often think of him and
    miss him terribly.
    
    Please accept my deepest sympathy in your time of loss.
    
    Pat and Ka-Jim
    

    	I guess there's nothing I can say either. I have two tht are
    getting along in years, both 22. Stormy has been down with colic
    twice in the last two months. So far the shots have worked, but
    I know that one of these days they won't. 
    	Sorry about Smokey. Cherish the memories.
    
    		George

      My deepest sympathies,  the attatchments we form are really special.
    
    Rick

    OH KATHY,
    
    I AM SITTING HERE IN TEARS OVER YOUR LOSS OF SMOKEY. BUT YOU DID
    THE RIGHT THING IN NOT LETTING THE ANIMAL SUFFER ANY LONGER. 
    IT IS A TUFF THING TO DESIDE TO DO.
    
    KEEP UP THE CHIN.....
    
    TERRY
    
    

    There is not much one can say.  I know we have lost a couple over
    the years from colic.  The one thing you have is that you did
    everything you could.  Cherish the memories.
    

    A few weeks ago while I was sitting with a few friends at the lunch
    table, someone asked me how long I would grieve if something happened
    to Jasper. One person said - a couple of minutes, another said -
    probably a day.
    
    I said that I would be devastated. They didn't understand how attached
    people can be to their horses. I know that I would get over it, but
    after 4 years of owning Jasper, he's no longer just a horse, but a
    friend who listens to me sing off-keyed Christmas carols and hears
    all the hassles I had at work that day.
    
    I hope it will be a long time before I have to deal with the situation
    of losing Jasper.  
    		Cindy
    

    Thank you for your sympathy.  It is not easy, and it makes it even
    harder when the majority of people I know don't understand.  
    
    Smokey was very, very special to me.  He was a horse that I trusted
    to put a year old baby on, and he'd babysit him, or if you wanted
    to go jump trees in the woods he'd do that do.  He had a wonderful
    personality - he'd kiss/lick you from your boots to your head, and
    he loved dogs - he'd even lick  them. And he always screamed a nicker
    when he saw me.  
    
    Hopefully he is up in horsey heaven with Missy now.  I can't help
    but believe this is all related to the alsike clover poisoning,
    which all three had.  Though I know colic is caused by many, many
    things, liver damage is also one of them.  I'm scared to death now
    that it will take my colt too.
                   
    It's nice to know you all understand.  Thanks.
    
    Kathy

    Kathy, I, too, lost my best friend.  It's hard to believe it was
    over two years ago.  It took me at least a year before I could think
    about Symphony without choking with tears.  Now, I look at her son,
    a three-year-old stallion that resembles her, and at her daughter,
    a lovely chestnut that was only three months old when Symphony died,
    and I tell them that Symphony would be proud of them.  The colt,
    Magic, is a driving champion, and the filly, Taliah, is MINE alone.
    Taliah is learning to drive, too, and I'll ride her this spring.
    
    Symphony was the kind of horse that could really read my mind. 
    She was so tuned in to me that it still amazes me.  Taliah is beginning
    to be like that, now that she's three and not so wound up with herself.
    
    I learned a lot about trust and earning respect from Symphony. 
    I never got to ride her, although I always promised myself that
    I would "some day."  Now, I'm determined not to let another chance
    slip through my fingers.
    
    My children had Pam Talley-Stonebrunner paint a portrait of Symphony
    and Taliah for Christmas in 1987.  The painting is from a photo
    taken four days before Symphony died.  It's very special to me.

    I guess my message to you is that, while the pain is very sharp
    now, it will, mercifully, subside.  You won't forget Smokey, but
    after a while, you'll be able to think and talk about your horse
    without feeling that awful sadness.  Someday, you'll find room in
    your heart for another horse that will make new memories for you.
    
    Merrie