Recently, I found out that a picture of me and my horse Tony (aka Mister Finesse) is being featured on a bag of feed concentrate produced by Buckeye Nutrition. In light of this news, I have decided to share with all of you the story of my horse Tony. It’s a bit long, so I’ll be splitting it up into two separate posts.
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A couple of years ago I was approached by equine photographer Cristy Cumberworth to ask my permission for the use of a photo. The photo in question was of me and my purebred Arabian reining horse Tony competing at the January 2006 show held in Tucson, AZ by the Southern Arizona Arabian Horse Association. I remember the show well because that was the last time I showed Tony. Moments after Cristy had taken my picture, Tony took a wobbly step during our last set of spins. It didn’t feel right and I knew something wrong. It wasn’t until I asked Tony to walk out of the arena that I knew how bad it really was. My trainer, Crystal, had me jump off and slowly hand walk him around the in-gate. He limped at every step and would not put any weight down on his front right leg. Just then the announcer gave the placings of the class. I had won, but with the threat of a severe injury taking shape it really didn’t matter. I walked Tony back to the stalls, wrapped his leg and waited to hear from the vet.
It wasn’t until Tony was home in Scottsdale that we knew exactly what had happened. Crystal called with the news of a torn suspensory. The suspensory ligament and associated apparatus is what keeps a horse’s fetlock from dropping to the ground. It basically acts like a sling to support the joint. While it isn’t the worst injury a horse can sustain, it is serious and takes around a year to heal.
So we put Tony on stall rest and eventually light hand-walking until we noticed another problem: ringbone. I knew that Tony had ringbone, but it wasn’t an issue until he was put on stall rest for the suspensory tear. Since he was no longer being active, the ringbone really had a chance to develop causing arthritic symptoms. Eventually his suspensory healed, but because the ringbone was in full swing we had to keep waiting. By this time, a year had gone by and I wasn’t sure that I would ever show Tony again. It was bit disheartening to think that would be the case. Right before the injury, Tony and I had really hit our stride as a team and were consistently marking 70s and above.
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Stay tuned for Pt. II!
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Susan says:
Taylor, great account of what happened after that photo was shot. I look forward to a happy ending.
Susan says:
I can’t wait for Part Two, and I’m hoping for a happy ending for the Tony Pony.
Cristy Cumberworth says:
Wow! Sorry to hear about Tony’s misfortunes. Glad I could feature him in a way. That is some photo of you two for sure.
The picture on the bag of the Endurance 101 in the same series of feeds is one I shot at a horse trials is also, in a way, memorializing that horse as well after not surviving a colic.
Miss Anthropology » Blog Archive » The Story of Tony, Pt. II says:
[...] long, so I’ll be splitting it up into two separate posts. This is the second of two, click here to read the first half. ——– Another year of waiting brought us to 2008. I had [...]