Leo

Serving as both teacher and friend, H A Maleo, or Leo, taught me many of life's lessons. I fell in love with horses at age six, and several years later I wanted my own horse. I had already begun to work off my riding lessons at the local barns, and then finally the chance to own my own horse came along.

Leo was a rambunctious four year old gelding with little training. He had a very unique personality that I grew to love. I convinced my parents to help pay for half his cost (what I couldn't afford), and I brought Leo along in his training by taking lessons. Months later, we had our debut at a local 4-H horse show. We took a blue ribbon in showmanship and placed in the western classes we entered. Leo and I loved the show ring! We then attended several schooling shows, primarily showing western pleasure.

Not only did Leo shine in the arena, he also excelled on the trails. We took up endurance riding and rode several 25/30 mile rides after he turned five years old. Leo was a trooper, raking in ribbons one weekend and top tens another! Some weekends, we took time off from showing and endurance rides, attending local gymkhanas for fun. One hot summer day at a show, my friend's horse came up lame. I felt badly seeing her horseless at the show, so I offered her the use of Leo. I watched her win two second place ribbons in her English classes. Her success with Leo inspired me to begin riding English again. I took lessons at a local hunter/jumper barn, and soon enough I was showing All-Around!

Almost a year later, though, Leo became quite lame. He was diagnosed with OCD, a joint disease caused by improper nutrition as a youngster. Unfortunately, Leo would have OCD for life and we realized our active training and showing schedule would be too much for him to handle. I rode Leo sometimes just for fun, but we both knew things wouldn't ever be the same. Leo grew bored not having a job, and seemed saddened by the lack of competition. He missed the spotlight, the line-ups, and most importantly his special "what a great job!" bran mashes when we got home from a show. I began showing other horses while Leo stayed at home- but he was never far from my heart. I planned on keeping him, because he was my loyal partner.

By chance, someone who needed him first came along. Family friends had just lost one of their horses, and they were heart broken. They needed a good horse. The couple rode in the mounted police force, participated in California State Fair, search and rescue operations, and parades. Since they wouldn't be doing any heavy riding, it would be the perfect solution for Leo! They gave him a wonderful new home. They loved Leo from the start, and Leo grew to love them.

Last year at the state fair, I saw Leo patrolling the crowds. He joyfully nickered a greeting when I called his name. Leo is truly a superior example of a versatile Arabian horse, and stands out among his peers in a magnificent breed! Thank you, Leo!

Now that I'm in vet school and I look back on this essay I wrote to nominate Leo for the Arabian Horse Association's Arabian Horse of the month, I just can't get over how sad it was to let Leo go. He is surely happy where he is, but I can't help but miss him. It is interesting to be in my radiology classes and hear the term "OCD". Osteocondrosis Dessicans. It has so much more weight to it since I have been through it with Leo. I hope to do research someday to figure out how to prevent this disease from happening. If you want to learn more about OCD, please visit this website: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/90404.htm