Huh?? In what,the river? Imagine so.

I just have to laugh,I am sorry,when I read "what an awful thing." I'VE got an awful thing for ya to think on:when I was going through chemotherapy for breast cancer,I received an injection within 24 hours of my treatments called "Neulasta." When I received the first one,the nurse had me to wait for 30 minutes afterward to be sure I didn't have a reaction to it.I asked for the drug insert (information) to read while waiting.During that time,I discovered that my miracle injection,designed to boost my white cell count which chemo can deplete dangerously,was made from none other than: E COLI.

No wonder it knocked me for a loop within a day or so after getting them! And,I had to have 6 of those shots made from crap,at about $2500 a pop.

THAT'S the awful thing! LOL!

Crowleysridgegirl, You have a terrific sense of humor, and I admire your grit. I googled the drug, and sure enough, made from e coli. And to think how much it cost per injection.

I didn't find a thing about CCTR having an outbreak of e coli. The only thing I found was the mention of it in the river. But that would come as no surprise where animals poop in the water. I think if there'd have been an outbreak, that it'd have been pretty big news since the ride attracts such huge crowds.

Yeah,that's pretty pricey considering! As a nurse,this made sense,however,to me.It stimulates the body's white cell reproduction,and,what else could be introduced into the body that would do that and not be fatal? I found it worse than chemo treatments.It causes flu-like symptoms as you might well imagine.The chemo was tolerable in some ways,but,that Neulasta shot would put me on the FLOOR for a couple of days! It is a life saving drug,however.Before,a lot of chemo patients would have high risk of dangerous opportunistic infections from low white cell counts.(I know that is all off topic and I apologize for it.)

You know,a story like that going around could hurt somebody's business.On another website (Topix) there apparently is a person who sounds as if they have  some personal vendetta against CCTR for some reason.I have to wonder who and how the E coli rumor was started? Probably right there in Eminence.

I've been on organized rides both in MO and Shawnee (southern IL) where flatlanders ride the dickens out of their unconditioned horses, not use electrolytes and end up with sick horses. On reading up on colitis x, I saw where a possible contributing factor is stress. The thought which first came to mind is that (IMO),2 sick horses would comprise a very small percentage when considering the huge number of attendees the ride attracts.

I wont' pass any judgments on CCTR because I've never attended one of the rides. Back in the mid 70's when I started going to the National Scenic Trail Ride, CCTR was always referred to as "the party ride" so friends and I always rode the Nat'l Scenic which is now still in the Laughlin family but renamed 4-J Big Piney and moved to an all new nearby area.

If you prefer smaller numbers, good food, friendly staff~Big Creek Trail Ride is a must. I've been on the spring, summer and fall rides over the years. It's one of the best organized rides I've ever attended. The horses have covered stalls with all the nearby huge piles of free sawdust to keep the horses on clean bedding. It's a definite favorite of mine.

Yes, and with that many horses, one can only wonder what your horse is exposed to? We can't assume that all horse owners are responsible when it comes to properly vetting their animals.