Thursday, August 27, 2009

A day to forget

Sunday morning we found Nigel had, we suspected been kicked by a horse. His nose was bleeding and one horn was off at an odd angle.
He was in obvious pain.

A quick call to the vet who assured me he should be fine and to just leave him but keep an eye on him. Later that afternoon he was out eating and he continued to act relatively normally for the next few days, despite looking a tad lopsided.
Last night he was begging for dog biscuits as always (he never gets any).

So this morning as I was going to work it was completely shocking to hear him thrashing around in his kennel and bleating in obvious pain.
What happened next is not something I ever want to see again but I don't think I have ever felt so helpless in my life.

That came on top of having Gus returned yesterday, quite unexpectedly. I was happy to have him back but having another horse here has caused some grief.
We no longer have access to the extra grazing we have used for the past 4-5 yrs.

So a decision has had to be made. Gus is only being dragged out to the odd fundraiser and being loaned out for people to ride.
I was quite happy with that arrangement as long as he was well cared for but long term its definitely not ideal.

While I adore Gus and he is credited with changing my life he really doesn't cope with the long treks we like to do. He doesn't eat or drink properly when away from home and I think he is a real home boy.
He is 17 yrs old too now and I guess its those long rides are maybe a bit too much for him. They certainly seem to take a lot out of him.

So its time to see if we can find him a home where he can be someone's "special" horse. Not that I am all that happy about it, but I do want something good for him and he deserves more attention than I give him.

R.I.P Nigel
I am sorry I couldn't make the pain go away.
You will be sadly missed and
never forgotten

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