11 January 2023

The Driving Moment of … Suzanne Roman

The Hoefnet challenge 'My Most Memorable Driving-Moment' resulted in three great winning stories. We would also like to show you the beautiful stories that did not make it to the top three. Below you find the driving- moment of Suzanne Roman.

Perhaps it is not the most beautiful or spectacular competition victory, but I want to show you a video in which my horse was harnessed again for the first time after almost 3 months. It shows how I realized how blessed you should be when your horse is healthy and fit.

I have a 10 year old German pony named Casanova. Cas had a serious accident in May. He escaped during a storm, panicked, and went through four fences, ran into a concrete wall and then ended up in the ditch. In addition, he got water from the ditch in his lungs and his body had of course been damaged. The first few days were crucial, hoping he wouldn’t get pneumonia. Luckily he got through that. I then had X-rays taken of his spine to rule out further damage and unfortunately too much movement of his vertebra was found there. This meant the end of our competition season and maybe the end of everything…. Advice: 8 weeks on the pasture and only walking in hand.

The check-up appointment 8 weeks later was important. If the situation would have been worse, a pain-free sports career, or perhaps even existence, would no longer be possible. If the injury would have remained the same, the expectation was that this abnormality may have already been there and there was still hope that he might be able to do some work. We were then told that the vertebra could no longer get ‘better’… However, during the checkup it turned out that his vertebra was back in place and there was no longer any damage to be seen. Truly a MIRACLE!! The vet was also very surprised and had never seen this… Cas was then allowed to pick up all the work again. We have already started some competitions and luckily he is doing well! So yes, driving competitions is super fun, but I now realize that a healthy horse is worth even more!

Thank you again for sharing your story Suzanne. We will send you the two Hoefnet caps as a thank-you gift!

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