Last Thursday we put down my 33 year old mare, Moon Beyond, aka Moonie. She was a Standardbred harness racing (pacer) horse until we found her at age 11. She had broken the canon bone in her left front leg and was being retired. According to her previous owners, the jockey heard it snap, but she never limped until she was leaving the Winners' Circle. That's heart for you! For the first few years that we owned her we had to keep her in padded shoes, but after awhile she was perfectly comfortable barefoot.
Moonie & I when we first got her in 1986...
Her early years on the track created only one real problem - she was clumsy! After spending all that time on even footing, Moonie tended to trip over her own feet alot. The littlest bump or rock was cause for tripping, and sometimes even falling!
Moonie in the spring of 1987...
With my sister in 1989...
Her heart and love for speed never left her. In all the years that I rode her, we rarely trotted or cantered. Moonie much preferred to pace! You haven't ridden anything until you've ridden a horse at a fast pace. Instead of bouncing up and down like you do at the trot, you bounce from side to side. It's awful! And awfully funny - I learned that it is hard to hold on when you're laughing!!
Meeting the babies in 2000...
I finally stopped riding her when she was 27. She just wouldn't slow down and the boys were too young for me to keep her in condition. We'd go out once a month or so and she would exhaust herself. She became a pasture pet and kid's mount. I don't think she minded a bit! She kept my parents' lawn mowed for them and was an ice-breaker. It was amazing how many people knew her from driving by and seeing her out there. More than once people stopped to report that she was loose! Nope, she never left the lawn - all it took was a string across the driveway to keep her in. And people knew that she wasn't the friendliest of horses. Whenever someone would stop to pet her, she would always turn her back. We joked that that was another reason we called her 'Moonie'. She was fine once you caught her, but she rarely offered to come up to people.
With Jeb, February 2006...
As the years progressed, her health deteriorated and we thought that we were going to lose her a few times. She developed Cushings disease, which is extremely common in horses. It caused her to grow a super long fur coat in the winter, which would take longer to shed out and look terrible into the summer.
Last winter was especially hard on her and we knew that it would have to be her last. My father gave her medicine 3 times a day from December to May. Finally, spring arrived and her health improved. This year's cool, wet weather was perfect and she had a great summer! We dreaded the end of August though because we knew that her time had come.
With my father, September 2006...
As always happens, the dreaded day finally came. Our vet came out last Thursday and explained what was going to happen. I was able to hold her head and give her kisses right up 'til the end, at which point he took her for safety's sake. Once she was on the ground, I told her 'good-bye' and petted her. She was so peaceful and the event was so easy and quiet that I stopped crying. All I felt was relief. There are no more words to express what she meant to me, to all of the family...we'll certainly miss her...
Good-bye Moonie...
0 comments:
Post a Comment