Well, down to six horses now.

[newbury]

Condolences. The death of a loved one hurts. As you say the look in their eyes needing relief from the pain is heart wrenching. Remember the good times.

 

[tcreeley]

The horses miss each other- takes them a while to move on as well. Part of life.

 

[QRTRHRS]

The horses miss each other- takes them a while to move on as well. Part of life.

My remaining four mares are actually doing better than I had anticipated. The "buddy" to the one we lost seems to have actually "lightened up" in her treatment of the other three. The "other three" consists of three chestnut colored Arabs, a mother/daughter and an aunt. The oddball is a very well bred black arab mare. She is no problem for me to handle but has been shall we say quite obnoxious to the others. Though some twelve years younger in age, we got her and the one we lost together. They apparently were pasture mates before we purchased them. She seems to be attempting to buddy up to the mare (the aunt) we would consider to be next in line.

 

[gsganzer]

I'm in the same boat with our 32 year old mare. I give her a scoop of sweet feed, a scoop of rolled oats and a scoop of soaked beet pulp 2X a day, plus she has a free range round bale. She can barely keep any weight on and is skin and bones. Her gut just doesn't process very well anymore. Our cold snap a few days ago was pretty rough on her and I thought this past Saturday was going to have to be her "rainbow bridge" day when she quit eating. But I waited and she's back to eating again. I'm just putting off the inevitable.

 

[blackrams]

It's been a while since I have been involved with horses. At the time, I loved it. But, there came a time when I had to make a decision on staying involved in the horse lifestyle or moving on. I chose to move on.

Was reared on a ranch in KS, grew up working cattle and training horses. Did the 4H and rodeo things. Had a great time. Joined the Marines, then college and back into the military (Army this time) and eventually got married. When the kids came along, I wanted to give them some of the same experiences I had as a child and growing teen. As I'm sure you can guess, they loved their horses. But, just as yourself, there comes a time when some things happen and you either take the reins or let mother nature take it's own course. I've had to make such decisions back on the ranch and since then with my kid's horses.

My daughter held her horses head (tears running down her face) while the Vet put down her favorite horse. That was a hard one but, the horse was on it's way out (according to the Vet) and she made the decision that it was less painful for the horse this way than letting her suffer for several days or possibly weeks. My son had team of wagon pulling horses, one snapped a leg while out in the pasture. I put that one down with a hand gun. It was a nasty open wound, there was no fixing it. Still wasn't easy but, I know in my heart it was the thing to do. Had a back hoe there within hours and the horse was buried before my son got home from school. My only regret is, he never really understood. He never saw the injury or the horse in pain. We replaced that horse but, it was never the same for him. I don't have any answers except to say. Do what you have to do. I'm out of the horse business now and doubt I'll ever go back.

But on a side note, I have a friend in TX that just called and asked me if I wanted a few Gypsy Vander horses (free). He needs to help find homes for about 90 of them. He's taking 12 or so. Told him thanks but no thanks. I'm no longer set up for such endeavors.

Rams :drink:

 

[QRTRHRS]

As for using a gun, "X" marks the spot. If called for, it is nothing to be ashamed about. The market for Arabians got bad about the time we "dropped" our three youngest whom as I mentioned are now 16 years old. We were picky about whom we sold to so we decided that since we were the ones who made the choice to breed and raise them that we would just keep them. One of the two 26 year old's came from New Holland. Her issue? She seemed to be in season 25 out of 30 not the usual 5, lol! She was also apparently abused. The other 26 year old whom is closely related was a throw away due to a knee injury we think. She is likely the most people loving horse I ever knew.

Yes, I would rather not have the work and expense but they are too much like family to cast off. When these ones go, there will be no more for us. But then there is something to be said for spending time in the barn with them that you won't get watching TV or the latest movie.

 

[gsganzer]

Yes, I would rather not have the work and expense but they are too much like family to cast off. When these ones go, there will be no more for us. But then there is something to be said for spending time in the barn with them that you won't get watching TV or the latest movie.

Like the old saying, if a kid is on a horse or in the barn, they're likely staying out of trouble. My oldest loves horses and my youngest won't have anything to do with them.

We'll keep horses until the oldest goes to college, then we're done.

 

[N80]

Sorry to hear about that. My daughter is a "horse person". She is married now, in her twenties. She has been into horses since she was 5 or so. She does 3 day eventing. Did it in college and still does it some now. I am not a horse person. I like horse. Love to look at them. Loved going to the events. Even love being around them.

But they are an unusual addiction that I do not understand. That is not to say anything negative about them or people who love them.

Anyway, my wife and I were the enablers. We bought her her first horse and then her second and then helped pay for the third even after she got married and moved to the country (where she is perfectly happy).

It all came to roost when her second horse got kicked in the leg in a freak accident in the pastures. My daughter was in high school then. They nursed and watched the horse for a few weeks but X-rays showed no healing. The horse had to be put down. My daughter was there for all except for the final event, administered by the vet. She helped arrange a back hoe and picked the spot. It was hard on her but she dealt with it.

Last Christmas her first horse, very old by now, got bad colic. She was too old to treat, it was Christmas eve and things were getting bad. Fortunately, her horses now stay in her father-in-law's pastures. They live right next door and her father-in-law is a very kind, very down-to-earth guy who grew up around cows and livestock all his life. He put the horse down on that night since there was no getting a vet out there and nothing the vet could do. He used a rifle as he had been required to do many times in his life. My daughter dealt well with that as well.

My daughter has bred her third horse and they now have that filly. She will train it for eventing. Her husband recently got a Marsh Tacky and they have a fourth horse that is a border. These horses seem to take up all of their time and money but it makes them both happy.

All of this is to sat that I don't necessarily "get" you horse people. But, I've been on the margins of that lifestyle and it has served my daughter and her new husband well and in that regard I can sympathize with your loss having seen them deal with it up close.

 

[rox]

I'm sorry for you QTRHRS

 

[hawkeye08]

Sorry for your loss...

 

[QRTRHRS]

Sorry to hear about that. My daughter is a "horse person". She is married now, in her twenties. She has been into horses since she was 5 or so. She does 3 day eventing. Did it in college and still does it some now. I am not a horse person. I like horse. Love to look at them. Loved going to the events. Even love being around them.

But they are an unusual addiction that I do not understand. That is not to say anything negative about them or people who love them.

Anyway, my wife and I were the enablers. We bought her her first horse and then her second and then helped pay for the third even after she got married and moved to the country (where she is perfectly happy).

It all came to roost when her second horse got kicked in the leg in a freak accident in the pastures. My daughter was in high school then. They nursed and watched the horse for a few weeks but X-rays showed no healing. The horse had to be put down. My daughter was there for all except for the final event, administered by the vet. She helped arrange a back hoe and picked the spot. It was hard on her but she dealt with it.

Last Christmas her first horse, very old by now, got bad colic. She was too old to treat, it was Christmas eve and things were getting bad. Fortunately, her horses now stay in her father-in-law's pastures. They live right next door and her father-in-law is a very kind, very down-to-earth guy who grew up around cows and livestock all his life. He put the horse down on that night since there was no getting a vet out there and nothing the vet could do. He used a rifle as he had been required to do many times in his life. My daughter dealt well with that as well.

My daughter has bred her third horse and they now have that filly. She will train it for eventing. Her husband recently got a Marsh Tacky and they have a fourth horse that is a border. These horses seem to take up all of their time and money but it makes them both happy.

All of this is to sat that I don't necessarily "get" you horse people. But, I've been on the margins of that lifestyle and it has served my daughter and her new husband well and in that regard I can sympathize with your loss having seen them deal with it up close.

My wife is the horse person and I am just along for the ride, lol! Honestly, I do not really care to ride much but I like being around them. About the only thing I don't like is the money involved but hey, you cannot take it with you.

Over the years, I have learned a lot of skills, many of which come to play to either set up or maintain a property to keep horses on. I have had to learn new skills while remembering the forgotten ones.

I have met many people over the years with only one or two that I had to restrain myself rather than ask them to get off of my property. Some have been clearly out of my league but friendly none the less. The ones I do not care for are the ones do not properly care for their animals or the one's who breed "mutts". I used to have two stallions (both whom I kept until their death) but I stopped breeding them when a. the economy got bad and b. It was obvious that people did not have a clue and were approaching the prospect like they were going to breed their dog.

Anyway, I agree that horses are livestock albeit more shall we say personable than a cow (though some of my farmer friends would dispute that). As with all livestock, there are good days and some not so good days.

 

[N80]

Agreed. My daughter has learned to install and maintain fence lines, they built a run-in shed/barn for the foal to be born in, she has learned a serious number of veterinary skills. She was pre-Vet in college. She finished Clemson in 3 years and got in to UGA vet school but decided she just liked living in the country and declined.

As far as attachment to the horses, for her there is definitely a connection that is much closer to the way most of us feel about beloved dogs and cats. I have a hard time seeing it but she is extremely attached to the mare she uses for jumping and dressage and is getting very attached to the filly from that mare. Losing horses has been tough on her. The first one was the hardest because it was not old and the injury was sudden and unexpected.

She also worked at a thoroughbred training and therapy center for several years riding and rehab-ing thoroughbreds. She liked the jobs but found the thoroughbred racing horses to be very temperamental and hard to deal with. She was the go-to rider for the nasty ones.