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Bad Thing Today

princessandthepee's picture

I have three horses. When my husband went out to feed this afternoon, Skippy was down. We called the emergency vet. This was unexpected. It wasn't collic. He had lost weight over the last two weeks, but we had supplemented him and thought it was due to normal winter added stress to their ability to maintain weight. They are grained everyday and have hay 24/7. The vet guessed cancer or a tumor that grew to a size it compromised him. We had to put Skippy down tonight. Really bad night. Tomorrow we have to have him removed from the pasture, it feels awful he is out there dead. He was a dainty happy red quarter horse, technically a paint. He was my favorite and I will miss him even though there hasn't been much time to ride the last few years. He was a nice horse, even, not neurotic, calm, giving.

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uptohere's picture

Awww, I'm so incredibly sorry : (
I wish I could make you feel better. For future reference when you are feeling up to it, there is a website called "Hoofprints on my Heart" where you can memorialize him.
I finally have my own horse after 30 some-odd years after my teenage-years horse was sold, and I know how loving they are and how attached you get to them.
Last year (before I got my own) I was leasing a bright red copper-penny colored Paint (solid) mare who coliced last fall right in front of me. We fought for hours to keep her up and alive, but the pain was too much, and she had to be put to sleep. (Luckily it was at the vet's not in the pasture, so I know you're dealing with the added trauma of Skippy being there.) That horse got me back into riding, as I had imagined my riding days were just a teenage memory. That mare, and riding again, basically brought me back to life after the hell my skids put me through for ten years. I know how important your horses can be to you.
****Hugs******

Ommy's picture

I am so sorry, horses are amazing animals. A loss like that is terrible. Just know there was nothing you could have done, i am sure he was a very loved horse.

Vichychoisse's picture

My sincere condolences. I hope you find peace in knowing you gave him a happy life.

princessandthepee's picture

Thank you, the sadness is really sinking in. Last night I think I was just in shock. Full day of clients ahead, and we're figuring out this morning how to respectfully deal with his remains. The vet services recommended a rendering service, but I just can't do that. Cremation is an exhorbitant amount.
What I didn't add last night was that when my husband told me he was down, I went down to princess's room. I had been making dinner. I was clearly tense and anxious. I asked them to come upstairs and be available for the boys and to continue dinner prep. I was urgently getting on my gear to get out there. princess kept going on and on about how her knee and leg were numb in certain places. She was so mind bloggling self absorbed I was stunned and completely frustrated trying to get my gear on. Then, she hobbles out there as I'm dealing with the emergency vet and my neighbor, who is an expert with horses and was helping me make a decision. princess starts telling the vet how to do her job - well, feed him, can you pour water in his mouth? Is there an iv to hook him up to, would that needle hurt? Then, as I step away with my neighbor to get away from her prattling, she again hobbles over and asks me if I knew her when the tips of her hair were dyed dark. She said her hair looked just like one of my other two horse's mane. Henry is a fjord, and has a blond mane with dark underneath. Then she says how much she like being a blond better. My head began to really hurt and the girl is lucky I'm a patient person because I wanted to pick her up and throw her out of the paddock. She is the definition of narcissistic. My horse is laying there thrashing in pain, I'm deciding whether to incur major medical expenses or lost my horse. I was crying and this dumb girl is talking to me about her hair. Then she brought up three times how they had cut the vegetables to go into the roast and pee had cut his finger.
INSANE.
Thank you for your sympathies. I've nevre lost a horse, and the grief is very deep. I would not have known to expect what it feels like, but yes to all who have gone through this, it hurts. And I hate that he's laying out there cold and lifeless. They think it was a tumor that compromised another organ.
Looks like a found a family that for some odd reason, I suppose for people like me, has a mass grave on their property where they deposit peoples' horses. Skippy won't be rendered, thank goodness.

uptohere's picture

I can't believe princess talked about her hair and other meaningless crap during all of this. What NORMAL human being wouldn't be deeply affected and silenced by seeing the suffering of an animal? Wow.

DaizyDuke's picture

Oh no, so sorry about this. I have horses too (Paints) They are my sanity! It's amazing how the worst day ever can instantly fade to black the moment that I walk in the barn and smell that "smell" (you know what I mean!)

RIP Skippy

Somewhere...somewhere in time's own space
There must be some sweet pastured place
Where creeks sing on and tall trees grow
Some Paradise where horses go.
For by the love that guides my pen
I know great horses live again.