Post by Whitewolf821 on Sept 8, 2009 13:10:52 GMT -5
This is on the front page of our local paper today. I can't think of a better place for it to be! Talk about raising awareness in our area.
www.cdapress.com/articles/2009/09/08/news/news01.txt
Boy's dream of owning horse turns into nightmare
The pole barn on the Rittenour property is a modest affair.
The metal siding is cobbled to shelter just one animal, the wooden fence comprised of materials obtained wherever the price was meager -- chopped from trees in the backyard, or donated by kindly neighbors.
All meticulously pieced together by a teenager and his family to shelter the horse of his dreams.
"It was actually a miracle," said Aaron Rittenour, as his eyes swept over the structure that had transformed the weed-drowned yard. "It took quite a bit."
And it looked complete on Thursday with the boy's beautiful chestnut steed lingering in the shade.
But that morning, the clear kind of morning where any kid would be seizing his final days of summer vacation for a hardy gallop, Aaron didn't dare pull out the saddle.
Instead, hands tucked in his pockets, the 15-year-old trudged to the corral to pass his hand along the horse as it wheezed, ducking its head as it struggled for each ragged breath.
It was one of the bad episodes, he agreed with his mother, Andrea, who watched with a frown.
The episodes.
The seizure-like fits that started soon after he had purchased the beast with his hard-earned money. That require constant vigilance and stepped-up care.
That keep the horse confined to the sturdy, hand-built barn.
Unrideable.
"I just feel bad," Aaron said as he gazed at the horse. "We went into all that work, and I bought him, and it ended up not working out."
•••
His parents had hesitated when their son said he wanted a horse of his own, something he had hoped for as long as he could remember.
"We've got five kids, we've got a full house," his mother said of the financial pressure.
But Aaron was prodded by a neighbor who let the boy tend to her horse and could see his love of animals.
"She said, 'You should get a horse, pursue what you want to do,'" he remembered.
Fine, his parents relented, but you buy it yourself.
A likely turnoff for most adolescents, but the then-13-year-old committed instantly. For a year, he scraped for money after school and during his summer vacation, primarily alongside his parents in the family wood shop for their cabinet making business.
He didn't miss his free time, he said.
"Just knowing I was putting it toward getting a horse," said Aaron, raised a pure country boy traipsing around the wooded property in Twin Lakes. "All along I've just wanted to be able to ride."
Searches on Craigslist found cheap and sometimes free materials for the barn, and Aaron sifted through junk piles for other supplies.
He and his family harvested wood off their property for the fence, and the boy built it all with help from his grandpa, dad and siblings.
"There was a family effort," his mother said. "I think it's because they knew it was a big desire for him. And we're all animal lovers -- more than one of us love horses, so we definitely wanted to put forth the effort to help."
It all culminated last summer when Aaron laid eyes on Scamper, the horse he found in the Nickel's Worth classifieds.
He knew instantly it was the horse for him, he said.
Shining brown coat, sweet temperament, gorgeous frame rippling with muscles.
He bought the 12-year-old beauty for around $850, satisfied.
Six weeks later, the first episode happened.
It would become a daily agony for the poor beast -- muscles rolling and spasming, breathing forced and painful, mucus dripping from its nose and mouth, eyes blinded.
"It's horrible," Aaron said. "When he has one, it looks like he's ready to die."
The vet concluded it was Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP), a muscle disease caused by a genetic defect. The family soon discovered the defect is the result of breeding practices aimed at producing the very muscle-bound look Scamper boasts.
"I've learned a lot," Andrea said. "See his muscley look? That's what they're going for."
The previous owner refused to accept the horse back, and insisted it had never showed signs of the condition before.
Aaron's brother Jeffrey had his own conclusions.
"What a jerk," he said.
The whole family now pitches in with the endless care to minimize the attacks, Andrea said, though Aaron still works to pay the bills.
Serving the horse three meals at precise times are key -- a mere half-hour off can mean days of suffering.
"When he's really bad, we usually come out and be with him, but we try to be careful because he could fall," Andrea said, adding that her 5 and 8-year-olds are now forbidden from the barn. "The vet's concern is someone getting seriously hurt, because that's a very big animal."
Aaron doesn't even try to ride anymore.
"I just got so fed up with it," he said. "You can put the saddle and the tack on, and by the time you get the stuff on, he could be having an episode and you've got to take it all off. You never know when he's going to have trouble."
•••
About a month ago, the vet advised the family to consider their options. Most likely, putting the animal down.
Aaron is torn, he admitted. The animal is part of the family now.
"He is the nicest horse I've ever seen," he said. "Just his personality, he'll follow you around like a puppy."
Even with the end looming, the boy doesn't shirk responsibility.
On Thursday, he ducked easily under the fence to stand beside the horse as it suffered, his hand trailing through its mane and across its back.
After all, it's the horse he earned.
"Just being out here, seeing all the work I've done, it's enjoyable," he said. "But in a way, now that I have him ... If I had ever known about his condition, I never would have got him. I just don't know."
www.cdapress.com/articles/2009/09/08/news/news01.txt
Boy's dream of owning horse turns into nightmare
The pole barn on the Rittenour property is a modest affair.
The metal siding is cobbled to shelter just one animal, the wooden fence comprised of materials obtained wherever the price was meager -- chopped from trees in the backyard, or donated by kindly neighbors.
All meticulously pieced together by a teenager and his family to shelter the horse of his dreams.
"It was actually a miracle," said Aaron Rittenour, as his eyes swept over the structure that had transformed the weed-drowned yard. "It took quite a bit."
And it looked complete on Thursday with the boy's beautiful chestnut steed lingering in the shade.
But that morning, the clear kind of morning where any kid would be seizing his final days of summer vacation for a hardy gallop, Aaron didn't dare pull out the saddle.
Instead, hands tucked in his pockets, the 15-year-old trudged to the corral to pass his hand along the horse as it wheezed, ducking its head as it struggled for each ragged breath.
It was one of the bad episodes, he agreed with his mother, Andrea, who watched with a frown.
The episodes.
The seizure-like fits that started soon after he had purchased the beast with his hard-earned money. That require constant vigilance and stepped-up care.
That keep the horse confined to the sturdy, hand-built barn.
Unrideable.
"I just feel bad," Aaron said as he gazed at the horse. "We went into all that work, and I bought him, and it ended up not working out."
•••
His parents had hesitated when their son said he wanted a horse of his own, something he had hoped for as long as he could remember.
"We've got five kids, we've got a full house," his mother said of the financial pressure.
But Aaron was prodded by a neighbor who let the boy tend to her horse and could see his love of animals.
"She said, 'You should get a horse, pursue what you want to do,'" he remembered.
Fine, his parents relented, but you buy it yourself.
A likely turnoff for most adolescents, but the then-13-year-old committed instantly. For a year, he scraped for money after school and during his summer vacation, primarily alongside his parents in the family wood shop for their cabinet making business.
He didn't miss his free time, he said.
"Just knowing I was putting it toward getting a horse," said Aaron, raised a pure country boy traipsing around the wooded property in Twin Lakes. "All along I've just wanted to be able to ride."
Searches on Craigslist found cheap and sometimes free materials for the barn, and Aaron sifted through junk piles for other supplies.
He and his family harvested wood off their property for the fence, and the boy built it all with help from his grandpa, dad and siblings.
"There was a family effort," his mother said. "I think it's because they knew it was a big desire for him. And we're all animal lovers -- more than one of us love horses, so we definitely wanted to put forth the effort to help."
It all culminated last summer when Aaron laid eyes on Scamper, the horse he found in the Nickel's Worth classifieds.
He knew instantly it was the horse for him, he said.
Shining brown coat, sweet temperament, gorgeous frame rippling with muscles.
He bought the 12-year-old beauty for around $850, satisfied.
Six weeks later, the first episode happened.
It would become a daily agony for the poor beast -- muscles rolling and spasming, breathing forced and painful, mucus dripping from its nose and mouth, eyes blinded.
"It's horrible," Aaron said. "When he has one, it looks like he's ready to die."
The vet concluded it was Hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HYPP), a muscle disease caused by a genetic defect. The family soon discovered the defect is the result of breeding practices aimed at producing the very muscle-bound look Scamper boasts.
"I've learned a lot," Andrea said. "See his muscley look? That's what they're going for."
The previous owner refused to accept the horse back, and insisted it had never showed signs of the condition before.
Aaron's brother Jeffrey had his own conclusions.
"What a jerk," he said.
The whole family now pitches in with the endless care to minimize the attacks, Andrea said, though Aaron still works to pay the bills.
Serving the horse three meals at precise times are key -- a mere half-hour off can mean days of suffering.
"When he's really bad, we usually come out and be with him, but we try to be careful because he could fall," Andrea said, adding that her 5 and 8-year-olds are now forbidden from the barn. "The vet's concern is someone getting seriously hurt, because that's a very big animal."
Aaron doesn't even try to ride anymore.
"I just got so fed up with it," he said. "You can put the saddle and the tack on, and by the time you get the stuff on, he could be having an episode and you've got to take it all off. You never know when he's going to have trouble."
•••
About a month ago, the vet advised the family to consider their options. Most likely, putting the animal down.
Aaron is torn, he admitted. The animal is part of the family now.
"He is the nicest horse I've ever seen," he said. "Just his personality, he'll follow you around like a puppy."
Even with the end looming, the boy doesn't shirk responsibility.
On Thursday, he ducked easily under the fence to stand beside the horse as it suffered, his hand trailing through its mane and across its back.
After all, it's the horse he earned.
"Just being out here, seeing all the work I've done, it's enjoyable," he said. "But in a way, now that I have him ... If I had ever known about his condition, I never would have got him. I just don't know."