I've found the video of Jasrada. (Dean had the camera & she knew better than to run over Him! :-) (She must have been about 18 when this was taken.) We found her one rainy day in 1992 - at a herd dispersal sale in Puyallup. We were looking for an interim ride for Butch while his young colt Khaz was growing up. Instead, what we found was a mare that changed our lives forever.
We started with Competitive Trail, where Jas & Butch collected many first place blue ribbons in 25-mile rides & two-day 50's. By 1995 I was looking for an endurance horse & decided to try Jas. She was so game & so savvy, too smart for her own good & Very competitive! Her recoveries were awesome & we placed fourth in her first 50 at Bully Wully. Our second ride, Animal House - we came into the Vet Check to find her back legs splattered with blood - she was bleeding from both front coronary bands, something no one had ever seen.
I could never give her up & she would never give up - so we kept trying different supplements, different farriers, vets & were open to any & all advice. By the end of her career, we had over 300-miles in pulls, most at 40-miles, when her feet would give out & she would be grade 1 lame.
Those times when we managed to have it all together, when she had enough hoof to shoe & when she'd been sound enough, long enough, for us to condition - we could win! Every ride, she would spook once - I would never know when or at what & had several unplanned dismounts over the years! We were riding before the Decade Team Award began, then missed getting it - by the one year (2003) I was injured. With those 300-miles in pulls - Jas also missed receiving a thousand-mile medallion...
Once she finally retired, though - she didn't miss anything! :-) Perfect for our newly arriving Grand-kids, she loved Ben as though he were her own & would whinny for him the minute she heard his voice!
 |
| 10-15-04 Ben walks Jas to the barn after his ride~ |
Jas came down with Anterior Entheritis in April of 2003. Dean Essex, DVM took on her treatment rather than putting her down. She was on fluids for over a week, but he never gave up & neither did she. With an amazing show of strength & mental toughness - she pulled through. I was determined that she would end her Endurance career with a 50-mile ride & we accomplished that at Klickitat in 2005.
 |
| Jas & Ben May 24, 2005 |
i remember her. she's a dream of a horse. please tell me how you kept her tail so white. i was one of those who kept Quik Silver in business, but i never got my horse's tail that white.
ReplyDeleteThank you Lytha! Jas was so proud of her tail! :-) I used what my Grandmother suggested; Mrs. Steward's Bluing. I can usually find it in the grocery store - but even Dover's sells it now. First I'd shampoo with a bar of Ivory soap - rinse well, then add the bluing & conditioner to the final rinse water. (After her death I had tail hair made into a braided bracelet (no hardware) for me & a cowboy scarf slide for Butch.)
ReplyDelete