Sad Day

Yesterday afternoon I got a call from the mother of the girl who owns Maccabee.  Macky came through the colic surgery ok but developed a complication and was not getting any better.  In fact he was getting worse and stopped eating.  They made the very difficult decision to end his suffering.  I am so very sad at his loss and his teenage owner is really torn up.

This his how I will remember him - full of himself

Always wondering what you were doing

He crossed the Rainbow Bridge on 11/3/2011 and was lucky enough to be loved by 2 teenaged girls in the last year of his life

Maccabee G, may you run and buck in green fields forever.  Rest in peace, buddy.

Macro Monday - In Memory of Jet

One of my favorite pics of Jet that I took last summer.  I liked it so much I used it on my business cards.  It really captured him well.

It has been a very tough weekend since Jet died on Friday.  He was fine one day and gone the next.  Please bear with me as my world sort of rights itself again.  We had a horse show on Saturday afternoon so I tried to focus all of my energy on that.  It sucks because T was planning on bringing Jet to that show.  I'll post show pics once I get through them all.

Jet has crossed the Rainbow Bridge

Today has been a very difficult day. It's with a heavy heart that I type these words. Jet was euthanized today. He was having neurologic issues that the vet felt he would not recover from so we made the difficult decision to end his suffering. I held on to him as he took his last breath so he would know we loved him until the end. He was my buddy and is irreplacable. I will miss his goofiness, his flappy lip, his Big Bird legs, his sensibility and affection, how he took care of T. I will measure every horse against all that he was. We are fortunate to have had him in our lives for two and a half years and I am comforted by the fact that we gave him the very best life. He didn't have an easy start to his life, as evidenced by the marks on his back and his poor feet when we got him, but he had a great life with us and especially as T's partner. He was my steady-Eddie, my trail leader, the one you always grabbed to work with an inexperienced horse, the confidence booster. He would take care of a small child or run flat out. And he was Reserve Champion in 2009. Not bad for a little horse of unknown origins who will forever hold a big place in our hearts. Rest in peace, my Jetty. May you gallop in green fields forever. Say hello to Diego, Snoopy, Binky, and Cocoa for me. I miss you already.

In Loving Memory of Diego

In loving memory of Diego who crossed the Rainbow Bridge one year ago today and the other animals that we have lost. You will live in our hearts forever.

Snoopy crossed the Rainbow Bridge today

Snoopy crossed the Rainbow Bridge today after 14 years with our family. We got him from a person that bred him so we first saw him when he was about a week old. He came to live with us when he was about 8 weeks old, 14 years ago. He was starting to lose control of his body even though he still had spirit. He has been with us a long time and we will miss him. RIP Snoopy.

Diego is gone

Bombproof - February 2008

The Ultimate Babysitter

Diego started to display signs of colic yesterday. He walked up to Craig and laid down, basically asking for help. Diego never laid down in front of people. I had owned him for 8 1/2 years and only seen him lay down twice in all that time. After talking with the vet, we gave him a shot of Banamine to ease his pain. The vet came out to check on him and did a fecal exam. He felt a blockage about the size of a small football which could have been poop or a tumor. He tubed him and gave him about 2 1/2 gallons of water plus about a 1/2 gallon of mineral oil. Diego got another shot of Banamine at 8:30 PM last night. He was showing signs of pain and was agitated. He stayed in the ring overnight and I stayed with him. What little sleep I got was in the car. He had a fairly quiet night and because he hadn't pooped overnight, I gave him another shot of Banamine this morning at 5:30 AM. We brought Razzle up to keep him company and the two of them hung out until around lunch time. Diego started to show signs of agitation as the Banamine wore off so he got another shot at 12:30 PM. He kept looking at me like he wanted help. Dr. Seybolt got to the farm around 3:30 PM. The blockage was still there and the prognosis was not good. We decided at that point that it would be painful for him to continue and he was euthanized. He went quick and painless and I was able to stay with him so he knew that somebody loved him to the end. He was my first horse and taught me how to ride. He taught T how to be around horses and how to be a good horsewoman. She doesn't remember life without him. He will sorely be missed forever. He was such a personality and such a good buddy. Diego was about 28 years old.

May 10, 2008 after a good roll in the mud

August 2005

May 2002 with T

2001 at Skyline Stables where I bought him

Binky crossed the Rainbow Bridge

Binky crossed the Rainbow Bridge today after almost 14 years with our family. She was 15 and really starting to deteroriate physically so it was time. Her back end stopped working and she didn't do much but lay around. T was upset but understands that it was best for the dog. Now we are down to one 14 year old miniature dachsund who is sad that his buddy is gone. We got him as a puppy and he has never known life without her. RIP Binky - we will miss you.

Cocoa

I was printing out pictures for T to take to 4H the other day and came across a photo of Cocoa. Cocoa was a miniature horse mare that came from the same farm as Pumpkin. She and Pumpkin, along with another mini, had gotten very sick while at that farm and lost a considerable amount of weight and were in horrible condition. We were not able to take them both home so Pumpkin came home first since he seemed to need the help more but the mare haunted me. We were able to go back and get her about a month later. She was skinny like Pumpkin and shaggy. She never was 100% even though she was gaining weight slowly and looked a lot better than the day she stepped off the trailer. She coliced on October 26th and died which was heartbreaking for T. It was heartbreaking for all of us. I like to think that we gave her a better life for the month that we had her and that she had companionship until the end.

This is Cocoa about a week before she died. I miss the grumpy faces she used to make at me (she only really ever liked T). Raider still whinnys at the trailer whenever it's hooked up. Poor Raider was mad at the world for about 2 weeks after she died. Pumpkin was sad too but Raider really showed it.