One Year Anniversary
It seems like I never talk about horses on here. Probably because I haven't ridden in about 8 months. :( But today I'm going to.
It just hit me. It has been exactly one year since my horse had to be euthanized because she colicked. Lady was my first horse and the only horse I've ever owned. I'd had her for a year. We'd been through ups and downs together during that year. She gave us a couple scares with minor injuries and taught me how to sit a buck and how not to complete a flying lead change. Despite the fact that she had the roughest canter in existance, she also had the smoothest jog I've ever ridden. She gave me two falls, one that I laughed off with ease and one that scared me worse than any other I had taken before.
The Sunday before she died I rode her and cantered. I'd been rather wary of cantering her lately, but I felt brave. And she did great. Not one buck and I actually managed to sit it the entire time. I looked forward to showing in 4-H that year for the first time.
But it wasn't meant to be. That Tuesday was just like any other. I went to school and had an average day. When I got into my mom's car after school, she told me Lady had colicked that day. When they had gone out to check on here that morning (she was boarded), she was covered in dirt and mud. Now Lady was a prissy horse. Her blanket was always clean and she would never roll in it. Just the fact that she was covered in mud was cause for alarm.
The vet was called out and Lady was kept up and moving. The vet couldn't find anything wrong and they walked her all day. It was around 4 when we got the call to come over because the people that worked there needed to do their jobs and Lady couldn't be walked. We rush over there and we start walking her up and down the drive and around the indoor arena. I walked her for five hours straight and she went down and rolled on me twice. Each time I got her back up and kept walking. She could barely stand because she'd been standing for so long. We tried to let her lie down, but each time she did she tried to roll and that's not good with a colicking horse.
It wasn't until around 9 that the vet came back again. He checked again and said she'd twisted her intestine. With that diagnosis there are only two choices: euthanasia or surgery. The surgery comes with a $5,000 vet bill, requires transportation of at least an hour to the nearest vet hospital, no guarantee for survival, and not much of a life afterwards. It was a tough decision, but it was the right one. My mom sent me out the car, crying so hard I couldn't see, while it was done. My instructor asked me if I wanted to keep a lock of her tail hair and I said yes, but I never got it.
R.I.P. Lady. I still miss you.
It just hit me. It has been exactly one year since my horse had to be euthanized because she colicked. Lady was my first horse and the only horse I've ever owned. I'd had her for a year. We'd been through ups and downs together during that year. She gave us a couple scares with minor injuries and taught me how to sit a buck and how not to complete a flying lead change. Despite the fact that she had the roughest canter in existance, she also had the smoothest jog I've ever ridden. She gave me two falls, one that I laughed off with ease and one that scared me worse than any other I had taken before.
The Sunday before she died I rode her and cantered. I'd been rather wary of cantering her lately, but I felt brave. And she did great. Not one buck and I actually managed to sit it the entire time. I looked forward to showing in 4-H that year for the first time.
But it wasn't meant to be. That Tuesday was just like any other. I went to school and had an average day. When I got into my mom's car after school, she told me Lady had colicked that day. When they had gone out to check on here that morning (she was boarded), she was covered in dirt and mud. Now Lady was a prissy horse. Her blanket was always clean and she would never roll in it. Just the fact that she was covered in mud was cause for alarm.
The vet was called out and Lady was kept up and moving. The vet couldn't find anything wrong and they walked her all day. It was around 4 when we got the call to come over because the people that worked there needed to do their jobs and Lady couldn't be walked. We rush over there and we start walking her up and down the drive and around the indoor arena. I walked her for five hours straight and she went down and rolled on me twice. Each time I got her back up and kept walking. She could barely stand because she'd been standing for so long. We tried to let her lie down, but each time she did she tried to roll and that's not good with a colicking horse.
It wasn't until around 9 that the vet came back again. He checked again and said she'd twisted her intestine. With that diagnosis there are only two choices: euthanasia or surgery. The surgery comes with a $5,000 vet bill, requires transportation of at least an hour to the nearest vet hospital, no guarantee for survival, and not much of a life afterwards. It was a tough decision, but it was the right one. My mom sent me out the car, crying so hard I couldn't see, while it was done. My instructor asked me if I wanted to keep a lock of her tail hair and I said yes, but I never got it.
R.I.P. Lady. I still miss you.
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