I was asked this morning how Tom Too saved my life. I made reference to it in a picture a posted of him recently hugging a little girl. I mentioned that I understood more deeply and learned to not question the absolute love some horses have for their work. The urban horses teach it all the time. Most have a really hard time with retirement and new routines and if there is nothing to do can go into a deep depression. Tom Too was the same but even more dramatically so. In this picture you can see how he lit up and how eager he was to go out. The day he saved my life may have even been the day this was taken. It was winter and I was going to do sleigh rides on the farm. On our farm there is a big parking lot where we would park to pick up passengers. I had Tom Too hitched with a new horse named Duke. Another former pulling horse. Duke has been worked on wagons so he was not too hot to hitch, he had learned how to stand and was pretty good at it. He was new though so everything was a bit too stimulating for him. While we were parked Duke rubbed his bridle off on Tom Too. We have a really strict rule here that you always fasten the bridle under a halter, for whatever reason I hadnt done it that day. I noticed that Duke got his bridle off and that he was starting to fidget. I simply did not understand how fast things could go terribly wrong and I thought I had a little more time. I called to one of my helpers to come and head them but he did not even have the few seconds to get there.....literally within seconds Duke bolted with all his might onto the road (where there are semis and all kinds of traffic going by at at least 40mph). Thankfully we didnt get hit by a truck but we are going full speed down a major roadway in the middle of it with me in sleigh with my dog swinging side to side with an out of control horse running for his life. Tom Too knew we were in trouble too and he was listening to me but he couldnt control the situation either. He did slow up but that created a different tension because Duke wouldnt and I as afraid it would break equipment and kill us if we didnt balance out....so Tom Too ran along with Duke....traffic pulled aside horrified and I remember thinking that my life will probably be very different from that day on, it was extremely likely I was going to wreck. Tom Too was on the offside (the right) and the leader but he was just as much caught up in Dukes panic as I was. He was straining to help me though and I knew it. His ears were on me and he was keeping the rig as straight as he could.....finally after what seemed like FOREVER, more like a mile, Duke showed signs of slowing. I knew if I could get Tom to ram into him we could run him into a snow pile. I know I was visualizing this as I yelled it and we tried a couple of times by me pulling Tom into Duke with the lines and then as if Tom really got it he rammed Duke right into a tall snow pile along the road with Duke and stopped him cold. Even then Duke was struggling but Tom bit him repeatedly and I was able to jump down and get to their heads. When I got there Duke started to relax. I was in shock but once it set in that we were safe and with the help of the police and some bystanders we got them unhitched and we started walking them home I realized that Tom Too helped save my and his and Dukes life. I know it. I know it as well as I know anything. Tom Too worked with me to prevent a terrible outcome for us all and he understood what I was trying to get him to do and he did it perfectly. Tom Too slipped into depression again later that day. I think he thought something he did caused it....who knows what he thought...a serious injury/wreck ended his career as a pulling horse...maybe he was triggered thinking that something bad would come of this too....but I took him back out with Duke a couple of hours later in the back fields to end it differently for us all. He lightened up and ate his dinner and cheered up. Duke settled in beautifully and we got to know him well. He was adopted a year later to a woman that loved and adored him and desperately tried to save him from his devastating metabolic disorder EPSM. The very same condition Tom Too had. This disorder is brought on by the rich and sweet feed the pulling horses get so much of when competing. So much is known now about the devastating effects of this kind of diet that most have learned to feed high fat and fiber....but we see so many drafts with this condition. It can and will take their life early as it did with the boys. We all learned so much from Tom that it could fill a book. Paul learned to drive with him. We learned about draft health, mentally and physically. We learned about Herd dynamics, EPSM, pulling horses vs. working farm or urban horses and on and on. Tom Too was loving and kind to all the children and would come out of the field to meet them at fence. He helped raise our baby Gracie and she became a fine young filly with his help. He taught us about how stoic drafts can be and how hard it is for them to just stand around with nothing to do. He taught us about how powerful and willing they are too.....and he saved my life. I have no doubt about it.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 15:16:31 +0000
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