"An Irish Blessing"
Arrangement By: RaNae Bangerter


Foaled: June 27th, 1986 Died: September 11th, 2000

Al Rawhide's story begins on June 27th, 1986 at Gale Allen's ranch in the beautiful mountains of Morgan, Utah. A dark chestnut colt with four stockings to the knee and hock with a *Muscat strip face, was born. 1986 was the year that *Muscat's breeding fee was $25,000. Gale Allen is a deeply religious man and has felt the guidance of God in his many decisions concerning his horses. In 1973 Gale was in the partnership that owned Gai-Adventure when Gai-Adventure was chosen National Champion Stallion. Gale knew when he found the *Muscat son, Vaguely Noble, he had found the horse he had been searching for. Gale has studied horses and pedigrees through some 45 years. He knows the characteristics of every dominant line in the country. Gale purchased Vaguely Noble for $120,000.00. The time came to create the "Vaguely Noble Syndicate". Noble was syndicated for $190,000.00. Gale was now able to afford Noble on a small breeder's budget. Gale was breeding the finest blood in the world. Al Rawhide was the outstanding colt from the cross between the *Muscat son, Vaguely Noble and the *Buszmen daughter, Fascinating Charm. Rawhide was the living proof of perfection. Gale loves to retell the fun times he and Rawhide had when they would play kick ball together. Rawhide loved people. In the spring of 1989 Gale sold Rawhide to a local trainer named, Truman Carver. Truman handled stallions exclusively. We had known Truman over a period of years. Truman stopped by one afternoon to see our horses and mentioned that he had a *Muscat grandson for sale. Ken and I just had to see this horse. I had no idea how we would ever buy this stallion. We made an appointment with Truman one afternoon. I remember walking into Truman's barn and there was this gorgeous chestnut stallion with a red mane and tail, four high stockings and a spirit I felt touch mine. We loved Rawhide even before we knew him. I remember telling Truman we'd have to sell a couple of horses before we could completely pay for Rawhide. Somehow it all worked out with God's help. We had advertised two of our horses earlier with no luck. Amazingly these two horses sold within a month. We used the money to purchase Rawhide.
I remember being so overwhelmed with Rawhide's beauty I couldn't take my eyes off of him. I also remember noticing his front hooves seemed a little misshapen. They were a little concave in the front. Rawhide's front hooves were also very steep, meaning, very high heels. I asked Truman about the bar shoes that were on his front feet and Truman just said that was so he wouldn't interfer when trotting. I didn't question Truman any further. Truman did, however, make a point to tell us that Rawhide didn't need any grains and would do fine on grass hay. Rawhide came home the first of September, 1989. The second week in September, 1989 we showed Rawhide at his first show ever at the Utah State Fair. He won Champion Stallion 3 years old and Reserve Champion Stallion over all. We were ecstatic. I couldn't wait to call Truman and tell him of Rawhide's Class 'A' success. About two weeks after the State Fair Rawhide came up lame. We were heart sick. A visit to our veterinarian proved very disheartening. The news that Rawhide was foundered in both front feet came as a shock. What had we done? We'd never had a foundered horse. We didn't even know what foundered hooves looked like. We soon found out. X-rays were taken and the diagnosis was that Rawhide's founder was old. It had happened prior to us purchasing him. He had about 30 degrees rotation. The day at Truman's came flooding back. I remembered the concavity in the front of the hooves. I remembered the bar shoes. I remembered Truman counseling me not to feed Rawhide grain. Had Truman knowingly sold us an unsound horse? It appeared so. We had no idea what we were in for. Ken and I would make a very serious choice at this time. In our hearts we knew Rawhide was suppose to be ours. Somehow we would help him get better. There must be a way, right? The choice to keep Rawhide was easy. The choice to not seek justice with Truman was a little harder. However we decided to place our lives and Rawhide's life in God's hands and take the cards that were delt us. I recall Truman coming by our place about once every two months after we purchased Rawhide. It was just to see how things were going and what horses we now had, but each visit took Truman to Rawhide's stall and Truman's eye's were always directed to Rawhide's hooves. We never said anything to Truman all these years. Truman's actions were between him and God. We decided even if we never showed Rawhide again we would help him all we could and let him live his life doing what he loved best, creating outstanding foals.
Our veterinarian, Dr. John Seiverts, began helping us with the best knowledge he had on founder. A specialized shoe was to be put on Rawhide's front hooves. It was called a heart bar shoe. I researched all the information I could find on heart bar shoes and founder. We were to soak Rawhide's hooves everyday. That would help the circulation. In time Rawhide did get some better. There were days when we could ride him in the arena. I remember trying to ride him in the mountains one afternoon with my sis and poor Rawhide just couldn't handle the rocks. So, home we came. The next spring, 1990, we took Rawhide to the Utah Valley All Arabian Horse Show in Spanish Fork, Utah. We couldn't show him at halter because of the condition of his hooves so I took the opportunity to ride him in the warm up arena each day to get him exposure. Everyone was awed by his presence and beauty. We then took him to the Utah Arabian Horse Clubs All Arabian Show at the Golden Spike Arena in Ogden, Utah in July of 1990. Again, Rawhide could not be shown at halter because of his hooves so I rode him in the warm up arena each day to just to get him exposed and known. Everyone thought he was magnificent. That was the last show Rawhide ever attended. That was the last time Rawhide ever left our place except for veterinarian visits.
I can't remember a time that Rawhide wasn't suffering with an abscess or so. We were continually soaking his hooves. He hooves were faithfully picked out by my precious husband, Ken, each day. Rawhide was in heartbars for over 5 years. Finally we thought we had found a great farrier. He put Rawhide in regular shoes. We were thrilled. Regular shoes after all these years. Amazingly he did quite well. He never was able to walk on rocks but could be riden some at home and run like the champion he was in the neighbors pasture.
Even though Rawhide could not be shown we did all we could to promote this outstanding stallion. Remember he had world class blood in his veins and he deserved to create other world class individuals. How do you promote a champion stallion without public exposure in the show ring? You create a web site devoted to this magnificent horse. You makeup promotional flyers and put them up everywhere. It was so fun the day we decided to make a video of Rawhide. He was groomed like a grand champion then turned out in the neighbors pasture to run and trot like the wind. That video was sent all over the United States to interested breeders. The comments that came back were so rewarding. Many said that Rawhide moved just like *Muscat his grand sire. Others commented that he was the most look a like grandson to *Muscat. In so many ways we were very blessed. There wasn't a day that he didn't fill the barn with his magnitude and beauty. Each and every day was a privilege to be with Rawhide. The barn was always full of his striking whinny. We'll always hear his voice.
The years brought us to purchase a *Nariadni daughter from Texas to breed to Rawhide. The pieces of perfection fell into place. Rawhide produced, 'Rawszheem'. The *Muscat, *Nariadni, *Buszmen cross was everything we had hoped for. There wasn't a mare that we put Rawhide on that didn't produce an outstanding foal.
The years with Rawhide were like weaving a basket, in and out. Some days, weeks, months were good. Some days, weeks, months were hard. Soaking hooves became a part of Rawhide's life on and off. Abcesses came and went. Giving him butte was an answer to pain when his hooves were sore. The last three years of Rawhide's life were the hardest. The shoeings were not helping anymore. The soaking as of December , 1999 was twice a day. He was back on butte. New shoes were tried. Picking out his hooves morning and night was a vigil. Nothing was working. He just got worse with each day. Finally in February of 2000 we were at the end of knowing what to do. Rawhide's visit to the veterinarian proved that his coffin bone had rotated more. He also had some remodeling of the tip of the coffin bone. They tried to put him in another shoe but his pain persisted. In April Rawhide underwent deep flexor tendon surgery under the expert care of Dr. John Farrer. This surgery is to cut the tendon that is attached to the coffin bone allowing the bone to relax and come back to ground level. I remember how beautifully Rawhide walked after the surgery. The veterinarians were hopeful. Rawhide was in the hospital about two weeks and then came home with styrofoam pads and bandages that had to be changed often. After about two week at home Rawhide was to go back to the hospital to get new shoes and have his bandages from his tendon surgery removed. When the bandages were removed his legs were inflamed with a condition known as scratches or mud fever. It was awful. The veterinarian rewrapped his legs packed in panalog ointment. The wraps were changed every five days and soon the scratches got better. Rawhide did so so until the end of June, 2000. I guess we had spent so much time tending him that we hadn't noticed how much weight he was losing. Even with the considerable weight lose due to the stress of pain, his determination to live was strong. The deep flexor tendon surgery created a condition that made it impossible for him to balance on his front hooves if they were not on completely level, flat ground. We had three out of state mares to be bred. We did all we could to help Rawhide during breeding. He was a courageous gentleman through it all. Two of the three mares caught. In July all the mares from out of state went home. The first of August Rawhide was worse. Back to the veterinarians. They weren't too sure what to do. By now he was looking very thin and had stall sores from laying down. Maybe when you are in the middle of a crisis you can't see the forest for the trees. We just weren't willing to put Rawhide down but our hearts were telling us that something had to be done. At the end of August I was searching on the Interent for soaking boats. I came across a web site by Gretchen Fauthner on Chronic Founder. She led me to Sabine Kells in Canada. Sabine is Dr. Hiltrud Strasser's chief editor and seminar assistant for the Strasser Hoof Care Trim. I immediately made connections with Sabine and found out there was a Strasser clinic to be held in Canada on September 2,3,4 2000. I purchased Dr. Strasser's books, 'A Life Time Of Soundness' and 'Shoeing A Necessary Evil'. Ken and I made airplane reservations to fly to Seattle, Washington to attend the clinic in Canada. Finally, we thought, there was true hope for our beloved Rawhide. Sabine had me take photos of Rawhide's hooves for study and reference. Shoes on and shoes off. I also took photos of Rawhide. Now that I look at them I could cry as he was so very thin and sad. The photos revealed extremely contracted heels and bulbs, deteriorated frogs and sole, too high of heels, and horrible laminae seperation at the toe when I backed up his toes to break over point. Off to the clinic with dreams of learning a barefoot trim that would make Rawhide whole once again. A Three days crash course on hoof structure, function, mechanism, anatomy, understanding bone structure balance, coffin bone position, detrimentally high heels, navicular disease, & doing the barefoot trim on cadaver hooves. On hands on site experience with live horses that Sabine worked on. We came home with our heads spinning. Now we would try to help Rawhide. Off came the shoes. Off came the hoof toes to break over point. Now Rawhide was really sore. No shoes. Actual hoof sole walking on the ground, which had not felt the earth in 12 years. Blood flow reactivated back into the hoof capsule because hoof mechanism was restored. Rawhide was to be walked for an hour or more each day. Sabine suggested that we put Rawhide with a friend to keep him active. The only good thing was that Rawhide's tendon surgery had healed. Now we had a whole new crisis on our hands. Sabine said maybe it would take a year or two for Dr. Strasser's trim to completely heal Rawhide's founder with continual Strasser therapy which included daily soaking, trimming every two weeks, daily walking for an hour or more to keep the blood circulation pumping into Rawhide's severly damaged hooves. Remember, good blood circulation heals. Rawhide's laminae was going to have to regrow from the cornet band down and that would take a long time. Plus, the process of bringing the coffin bone down to ground level again would require a devoted effort on our part to do the barefoot trim. We were willing to go for it as we'd already devoted 12 years of our lives and his to keeping him alive with foundered hooves. A friend of Sabine's was coming to our ranch to give a clinic on the barefoot trim on September 23rd, 2000. At that time she would give Rawhide his first really good barefoot trim to begin the healing process. Prior to going to Canada I just had a feeling that I should breed our own Arabian mare to Rawhide. You know, just in case he didn't make it through the winter. I didn't tell my husband, Ken, about it. My daughter, Chyrese, and I bred Spirit on the sly at night the last week of August, 2000. Rawhide was such a gentle stallion that even two women could handle breeding him. When we got home from our three day crash seminar course at a cost of $2,500 we did exactly what we had been taught and turned Rawhide out with a friend to keep him moving. This would keep the blood flowing in his hooves, keep mechanism working, and help harden up the soles that were like mush. This was seemingly working fine. His friend was Spirit, the mare we had bred to him. They ate together. Grazed together. He loved to played stallion games showing off his stamina for life and the will to live while exhibiting his long arched neck and profound trot, but never anything to worry about. Their companionship was well into two weeks. I would put Spirit away at night then turn her out in the mid morning with Rawhide. In the quiet of each evening I would sit with Rawhide under the stars looking toward the night sky and pray to God that I would know what to do to help our dear friend. I thanked Father In Heaven for each and every day we had to share our lives with this magnificent horse. I prayed that Rawhide's pain would soon subside and his hooves would heal. Then the day came, September 11th, 2000. Rawhide and Spirit were turned out together. I had gone to the store. Ken was moving hay into the barn. All of a sudden he heard a commotion with Rawhide and Spirit. Rawhide and Spirit were screeming. Ken couldn't believe what was happening. Ken watched at his view point on top our 60 foot hay stack as Rawhide relentlessly cornered Spirit. Rawhide ignored her threatening kicks. Finally the crashing blow came to Rawhide's right front leg. The screamming stopped. Ken fled to Rawhide's aid. He removed Spirit. I got home just in time to meet Ken running up from the barn. "Rawhide's hurt!" Then the pain of the truth. As I saw my precious boy dragging his right front leg I knew it was broken. A frantic phone call to our veterinarian. Our precious boy, looking to us with those large soft loving eyes to please help him, bravely loaded into the horse trailer with only three legs. Why now? Why now when his hooves were finally getting better? Why now when there was hope for soundness? If I'd just kept Spirit away from him. If I'd just done things differently. Weren't we trying to do what we'd been taught in Canada about horses being social and needing companionship? We were just trying to do what was right. Weren't we trying to save our Rawhide's life? Why were we so stupid to think a Stallion could get along with a companion? At the clinic they said it could work. Why? Why? Tears from our breaking hearts ran down our faces on the long drive to the veterinarians. As we pulled in all of our wonderful veterinarians that had worked on Rawhide for the past 12 years met us. Rawhide was not unloaded as the pain was excruciating. Dr. Charlie Heaton took the x-rays. I found myself in the breeze way of the clinic sobbing. The news came soon enough. Dr. Heaton came to me and shook his head. "I'm so sorry, RaNae." was all he said. Dr. John Seiverts and Dr. Roger Reese explained that Rawhide's leg was shattered at the knee, above the knee, and into the shoulder in 5 major pieces. It was over and I didn't even have any say so in it. It wasn't fair. Not now. After all we'd learned why now? Ken unloaded Rawhide from the trailer. Ken would hold Rawhide's head while Dr. John Seiverts, Rawhide's personal vet for the past 12 years, administered the drugs. Ken never let Rawhide's head hit the ground. Ken stroked Rawhide's sweet face until he took his last breath. Ken and I sobbed and stroked Rawhide's face for sometime. I don't remember how long. We just couldn't say goodbye. The ride home was awful. I don't even know how Ken could drive. We blamed ourselves over and over. How come for two week Rawhide and Spirit had gotten along just fine? And now this. In the blink of an eye his life was snuffed out. When we pulled in our driveway all the horses whinnied in the barn to welcome Rawhide home, but there was no reply. As the days passed we notice the mourning that was taking place in the barn. Rawhide's son, Dreem, was his best friend. Dreem became very depressed and quiet. Our mares wouldn't talk and Rawhide's favorite mare, Banshee, just wasn't her self any more. Ken and I spent days and nights crying. This was so hard. Rawhide was the foundation of our farm. He was the soul of our lives with the horses. We knew when we bought Rawhide that he was meant to be ours. We have come to learn, through the Spirit of God, that Rawhide had a mission here. His mission was to teach Ken, myself, our family and others service and unconditional love. He taught us all about founder and navicular disease. He taught us how to save our other horses from Rawhide's fate. He taught us how to help all horses and horse owners from what we have learned. Maybe Rawhide just couldn't take a year or two of more pain until his hooves remodeled. Maybe Rawhide's mission was over. Maybe Rawhide and Spirit had an agreement about him going home to God and Spirit was the solution for Rawhide. I now believe that Rawhide knew Ken and I could never bring ourselves to euthanize him. Maybe we really couldn't see the forest for the trees because we were in the middle of never giving up on his hooves. Night after night I would go down to the barn where Rawhide was out on the soft grass and sit in the stillness for an hour or so with him as I prayed for help from Father In Heaven. I can see now that the months and months of pain that Rawhide was in during the year 2000 had to come to an end. Maybe this was meant to be. Only God knows for sure. We had the privilege of serving Rawhide for 12 years. He was 14 years and three months old when he went back to his Father In Heaven who created him. Ken was concerned about why Spirit was so off with Rawhide the day she kicked him so we took her to the veterinarians to have her check to see if maybe Rawhide had bred her during that time. Little did Ken know that Chyrese and I had already bred Spirit the last week of August, 2000. I waited patiently while the ultrasound was performed and the announcement came that Spirit was 23 days in foal. 23 days in foal? That couldn't be right. It was less than two weeks ago the Spirit broke Rawhide's leg, Ken thought. Then I revealed the truth to Ken. Tears ran down Ken's face as he realized we would get Rawhide's last foal the next year. Rawhide leaves a wonderful legacy. His get are outstanding. Rawhide's last foal was born on July 20th, 2001 out of Spirit. We've named her RK RAWHIDE'S SPIRIT. She's wonderful. She represents her sire well. She'll be famous one day.
Ken and I have never sat down and deliberately figured out the financial cost of our care for Rawhide over the years. The last year of Rawhide's life was well over $6,000. It doesn't really matter. We did what we did because we love Rawhide and he loves us. Ken and I thank God for the time we had with Rawhide and for all he taught us. We promise, Rawhide, that we will share our knowledge with others to help all horses and owners.
We will always remember Rawhide's love of life. His stamina in the face of disaster. His fluid high trot and commanding presence. His will to live at all odds while patiently working with us when he felt the worst. The magnitude of his spirit when his poor body was thin with sores. The obedient gentleman he was during breeding. And most of all Rawhide's heart. A heart full of courage and strength to have wanted to live through it all. He was breathtaking.
I am creating a web page addressing the barefooted hoof, why it is so important and addressing all aspects, that Ken and I have learned since Rawhide's death, to healing founder and navicular, not just with baring the hoof but with complete structural support and more. Keep in touch and I'll get it posted soon.
We want to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to the Veterinarians at South Valley Large Animal Clinic for their knowledge and devoted work over the years on our beloved Rawhide.

"Grieve not, nor speak of me with tears
but laugh and talk of me as if I were beside you..
I loved you so---
'twas Heaven here with you."
~Isla Paschal Richardson~

"An Irish Blessing"
May the road rise to meet you, Rawhide.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your withers.
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again.
May God Hold You In The Hollow Of His Hand.

We Love You So Much, Rawhide.
Oh, How We Miss You!
Run Rawhide, Run!





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