Gunner was the true meaning of the word, gentleman. I remember vividly
as I walked into a barn in Tennessee, to look at a horse for a friend, the
first moment I saw him, I knew he was my horse. It took me a full
year almost to the day to convince the woman that bred him that he belonged
with me, and I made the round trip to Tennessee to pick him up in record
time so that she couldn't change her mind.
When he arrived home as a three year old, we had a lot to learn, but ever
the gentleman, he went along with just about anything I wanted to do. When
it came to the show ring, you couldn't take your eyes off him. And as he
started to come into maturity, he really enjoyed showing, especially winning.
I could hardly hold him back when it came to victory
laps.
In the fall of 2002, Gunner
started to change. I got the terrible call in the middle of the night that
he was down. This was the start of an awful period of anorexia, daily
colic, vet visits, and finally two months at Texas A&M Vet Hospital
for every test known to man & horse. Then, finally, exploratory surgery.
He was so underweight and blood values so poor that he was not to survive
the surgery. As he came groggily walking down the hallway post-surgery, I
remember thinking, "There's my champion". Gunner was diagnosed with Granulomatous
Enter colitis, and was given a poor prognosis.
He outlived all expectations, which made it even harder to let him go. A
gentleman to the end, I couldn't bear to watch his quality of life slip away
and made the decision to let my friend go. As he took his last breath,
I told him we would meet again in newer pastures and he would forever
be my champion.
Gunner was owned, trained
and loved by Amy Reynolds.
Lethal Weapon's Gunner 
