Simply Fabulous, aka Sissy, was laid to rest in the early evening yesterday. Her life that began on a paint horse farm in California with her breeder Mary Irwin, a life that graced the show ring, a life that produced flashy offspring, a life that subsided in Northeastern Oklahoma She was a sort of premadonna and liked to be spoiled. She was a good mare and gave us two very painted foals.
However, it was her lack of care for her final foal and the trauma that she suffered during his gestation that was just too much for this girl to pull through. When she made the 1400 mile trek from a california valley to the oklahoma woods, she was nursing a filly and bred back to our stud. This is a draining task in and of itself. In an accident out with the broodmares, that we still don't fully understand, Sissy sufferd a fracture to her hind leg. We were concerned that she wouldn't continue. She didn't want to eat...she was depressed.. we held little hope for her unborn foal. We brought her in and with intensive treatment, specialized feed and a lot of carrots and apples, she seemed to mend. But we didn't know if she would ever be the same. In late June after holding her foal for over 420 days of gestation she foaled "little Miracle". He seemed like he would make it, althoug he was very small, compared to Sissy's other foals. He was a regular foal, full of life and seemed happy to run and buck with the other foals. Foaling was hard on Sissy, she was not really interested in her foal, as in the past. Her demeener continued to grow grouchier and more stoic, and asside from nursing another mare had addopted the little guy.
Sissy seemed to be maintaining, until we noticed her foal was not thriving like the others. He seemed sick or tired, and so small...Sissy had stopped producing milk. The foal was only 3 months old. He took to a high fat pellet and hay, but seemed to be stunted. We knew something was up with Sissy. We watched her as winter approached, never really do very well. We had hopes that not being bred, her body would recover...it wasn't so. Her healed broken leg reamined stiff and hard to move, and the rest of her legs had become ladden with athritis. She weathered the brunt of a icey snow storm, warm in her layers of blankets, but we had made the decision.
Sissy hardly whinned for the other horses as we drove out. The vet noted her debilatating arthritis and thought we had made the right decision... as hard as it was. Aaron was petting her as she dropped her head, laid down and breathed her last. There is no doubt now that her suffering has ended. I am confident that she had not seen the worst, and was glad that she wouldn't. We will find a spot for her above the Beautiful Valley at the back of the property to bury her there. If God ever allows us to fence our place, and bring to pass the many plans that we have, Sissy will still be among the herds that graze above her... We are thankful for the time God gave us with Sissy.
No comments:
Post a Comment