On March 10, around 10:30 at night, my cell phone rang. When I saw who it was, I knew it wouldn't be good. Calls that late usually aren't to impart happy news. The manager of our barn said Lady was colicking.
Brooke took these pictures of the horses on 2/17/2009. All three horses in a row - Punkin, Honeybee, and Lady.
If you don't have horses, you probably wouldn't know that colic is a VERY bad thing in a horse. I didn't. You think of babies with colic and you think "tummy ache." Nothing serious.
Later, when Brooke was looking at the photos, she was shocked to see that Lady was mimicking Honeybee's every step. In almost every shot!
But with a horse, colic can be deadly. I was still working, so Steve and the girls went immediately to the barn while I made phone calls to the veterinary service.
It is like they were synchronized - every step the same.
The vet contacted Steve to get the scoop once Steve arrived. After trying a few things that help for a minor colic, and those things not helping, they decided to bring the horse to the equine vet - a trip 45 minutes away. And it was now midnight.
Even here - all four feet off the ground at the same time - both horses. Weird.
The news at the vet's office was not good. It was very serious and she likely would not make it.
"I'm gonna get you, Honeybee!"
Steve and the girls arrived home around 4 a.m. Everyone was upset. By morning, things had worsened and Steve had to make the decision that no pet owner wants to make - we had to put her down.
Brooke with Lady in January 2009
Writing this today (1 April 2009), I still can't believe she is gone. She was just a few weeks shy of seven years old.
Me with Lady in 2007
I suppose it is every little girl's dream to own a horse. I didn't realize that "little girl dream" until I was 41. But while I owned her, she owned all our hearts. And we will all miss her dearly.
