Truth Be Told

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Not the post I wanted to be writing tonight.  X-Tra Pony and Windhurst Farm had to say goodbye to another dear friend today.  The past year has not been a good one in that respect.

Tru had been doing so much better lately.  With the regular acupuncture from Dr Maro he was improving.  His leg had been staying normal, well normal for that leg anyway.  And Katie was back to riding him.   He wasn't in work per say, but she was doing some walk/trot under saddle and he looked really good.  He was moving well, completely sound.  He was happy and enjoying life.

Thursday morning I guess the leg blew up again, although not as much swelling this time as in the past.  But Tru wouldn't put any weight on it.  He wouldn't really move at all.  He spent all day Thursday and all that night out in the arena with Pele and Annie.  When I got to the barn Friday morning, the leg was still swollen but he was moving better.  He was hobbling but he would move at least.  Before I left Friday afternoon, we fed and brought him in his stall.  When I left he was happily munching on his hay.

Saturday morning, he was fine when Bonnie fed.  But then about an hour later Sarah and I went over to that side to grab wheelbarrows, I found him sweating and shaking.  Called Bonnie over.  She called Dr Maro while I got a cooler on him and heated up some water (his water bucket was empty)  He was guzzling the water as soon as I poured it in his bucket which is very unlike him.  Sarah got him another bucket of water, and he wouldn't even let me pour it in his big bucket, he drank right from the smaller one.  He ended up drinking like 2 whole buckets of water then.  Dr. Maro was going to come out and see him, and in the meantime Bonnie went upstairs to throw him some hay.  Nothing wrong with Tru's appetite, he perked up as soon as he heard her walking across the hayloft.  Anyways, we figured the best thing for him then was just to leave him alone and see if he would calm down any.  So we got started on the barn chores.  Cleaned Airy's stall first thing so we could move Tru over there.  The stall itself is more level, plus we can keep a better eye on him.  Of course though it was slow going cleaning stalls, we could only fill the wheelbarrows about half full because the ground is so wet and muddy, anything more than that and you get stuck.  So I checked on Tru frequently, he wasn't getting any worse, so that was a good sign at least.  He was very unsteady on his feet, but he was smart enough to use the wall to support himself.  Which is good because I don't think there's anyway we could have gotten him up if he had gone down.  We got Tru moved over to Airy's stall, changed his cooler and gave him some more hay.  He seemed, content at least.  He was obviously in distress and uncomfortable.  But he still had a bright eye, and his ears were perked.  He looked for attention when we went in his stall.

I had to leave before Dr Maro got there.  But I did get updates.  Dr Maro diagnosed him with an infection in his leg and I guess he was doing a little better on Sunday.  But today he started deteriorating.  And Katie made the very difficult decision to let him go.  It was the right decision, as hard as it was to make.  She was with him, he was happy, and eating peppermints right to the end.  He was reunited last night with his girlfriend Jade, and know Vinny and Fatty were waiting for him as he crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

Good-bye Tru, you will be missed.







By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,
is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.
Where the friends of man and woman do run,
when their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,
is a place where beloved creatures find rest.
On this golden land, they wait and they play,
til The Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,
for here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.
Their limbs are restored, their health renewed.
Their bodies have healed with strength imbued.

They trot through the grass without even a care, 
til one day they whinny and sniff at the air.
All ears prick forward, eyes sharp and alert.
Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the herd.

For just at that second, there's no room for remorse.
As they see each other...one person...one horse.
So they run to each other, these friends from long past
The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart
has turned to joy once more in each heart.
They nuzzle with a love that will last forever.
And then, side-by-side, they cross over...together.

~Author Unknown

2 comments:

Unknown March 15, 2011 at 3:35 PM  

I feel so bad!! I loved Tru but I think it was better for him not to be mean but at least he was happy when he left us

Jai March 15, 2011 at 4:05 PM  

Katie gave him the ultimate gift. He was in pain and his body was telling us it was time. It's not mean, it's far kinder to him to let him go now while he was still happy, than to make him suffer further.