He was 14 years old died from complications from laminitus.

I hate to hear that kind of thing.  It seems like we are losing a lot of horses in the past couple of years.

Terribly sad.  Here's the story reproduced from http://www.jehstallionstation.com/tx_home_05.html


Pilot Point, TX--Heza Fast Man, a racing champion and champion sire of 80 horses that won or placed in stakes, was euthanized today (December 6, 2005) following a long time battle with laminitis. The 14-year-old son of The Signature stood his entire career at JEH Stallion Station-Texas Division.

Heza Fast Man was bred and raced by San Tan Tillage Inc. He won 10 of 17 starts at two and three and earned $801,356. At two, he won the Grade 1 Texas Classic Futurity and Kevin Burns Memorial Futurity while finishing second, by a nose, in the Grade 1 All American Futurity and qualifying to the Grade 1 Remington Park Futurity.

Named the Champion 3-Year-Old colt of 1994, Heza Fast Man won the Grade 3 Vandy’s Flash Handicap, was second in the All American Derby-G1, third in the QHBC Championship Classic -G1 and a finalist in the Remington Park Derby-G1.
Trained by John Bassett, Heza Fast Man set two new track records in Arizona as a 2-year-old. He went 300 yards in :15.860 in the trials to the Kevin Burns Memorial Futurity and returned in the finals to break his own record in :15.850.

The bay stallion began his stallion career in 1995 at JEH Stallion Station when it was located at the old Phillips Ranch in Frisco, Texas. He moved in 1998 to Pilot Point, Texas when JEH Stallion Station relocated to it’s present location. Jim & Marilyn Helzer, owners of JEH Stallion Station, purchased an interest the stallion in 2001.

Heza Fast Man’s top ten money earners are A Real Man SI 107, ($308,819, World Champion Three-Year-Old, etc.), Fast Debonair SI 103 ($455,658, 1st-Texas Classic Futurity-G1, etc.), Heza Bold Man SI 107 ($335,168, Heritage Place Derby-G1, etc.) Heza Motor Scooter SI 106 ($259,744, 1st-El Primero Del Ano Derby-G2, etc.), Fast First Prize SI 102 ($244,929, 1st-Heritage Place Futurity-G1), Heza Wicked Man SI 107 ($172,509, 1st-West Texas Maturity,-G3, etc.), Southern Cash Man SI 102 ($157,589, 1st-Ruidoso Derby-G2), A Fast Jet Holme SI 106 ($152,863, 1st-Altoona Derby-G3 etc.), Fast First Call SI 106 ($149,312, 2nd-Ruidoso Quarter Horse Futurity-G1), and Heza Fast Dash SI 103 ($136,123, 1st-Blue Ribbon Futurity-G2, etc).

Heza Fast Man will be buried in Pilot Point.

Wow, what a shame. Val, as race horses go, is this a "normal" thing? It seems that a lot of race horses don't get out of thier teens. 

I don't think it is so much a normal thing about race horses but you have to admit that most horses like him are kept in conditions that are not veyr natural and most studs and race horses spend a lot of time in stalls.  I think over feeding, over medication and stuff does take their toll.  These horses are under an incredible amount of stress and a lot of laminities is stress/colic related.