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Distel was one of the friendliest horses you would ever want to meet.
She was definitely a "people" horse. She would always walk right up to you
in the pasture, and give you a friendly nuzzle. She loved to be scratched
right under her jaw.
My sister Sarah
brought Distel home when she was seven or eight years old, and thought
she was going to train her and then sell her. Distel had not been ridden
before, but had a saddle put on her back. Sarah worked with her patiently
to get her used to a rider's weight, and was able to ride her after some
time. Distel had three nice gaits, and was trained on the basics of Dressage.
She trained Distel to walk, trot and canter and then eventually to jump.
At that time, Sarah thought she was ready to be sold. She even
advertised her in the classifieds, and the Chronicle of the Horse. Several
prospects came out, and one was even interested, but it just didn't feel
right. So, Sarah ended up keeping her...and I would occasionally ride her.
She was a great horse to
ride and had a nice round jumping form. So nice, in fact, that I didn't do
very well jumping her. I fell off at one point when I wasn't wearing a hunt
cap and had amnesia for a few hours. It was a little scary, but I was fine,
luckily. But I wasn't afraid to get back on her after falling off...she was
so nice and gentle. I even took her to a dressage show, and she was so even
keeled that I received remarks saying "need more impulsion."
Sarah had always wanted
to try breeding Distel as she was such a nice mare, so had gone to the trouble
of getting her Trakehner mare approval. However, after several attempts at
breeding her, it was discovered that she had issues that would require expensive
surgery. So Distel's chances at becoming a mom were over. I had always thought
that we could try placing her egg in a surrogate mare and trying that route,
but that never came to fruition.
After her "broodmare" career
was over, I thought I could take a stab at more actively riding her. I even
moved her to a barn closer to my house. My plan was to show her this past
spring/summer. She ended up becoming lame, and after months of stall rest
and rubbing anti-inflammatory ointment on her leg, I took her back home.
She ended up getting well enough for trail riding and light trotting. I rode
her a few times there, and my last ride on her was in the fall at some local
riding trails. She hadn't been on the trails much, but she
was a superstar. She even went through the water...after some prodding. It
was a beautiful fall day, and we had so much fun. I looked forward to doing
it again in the spring, but that was not to be.
Distel always had a
sensitive stomach and was more prone to colic, so when my mom told me Distel
was colicing, I didn't think too much of it. She usually pulled through.
But when my phone rang at 5 a.m. the next morning, I knew something was wrong.
My mom and sister had been up with her all night in a wintry blizzard, and
temperatures in the single digits, walking her to keep her from rolling.
My mom said they were exhausted and needed help, so I drove out in wintry
conditions to see what I could do to help out. I knew it wasn't going to
be a very good Valentine's Day.
When I got there, the vet
had pumped some warm water and mineral oil into her stomach, and had given
her a dose of morphine and a tranquilizer. She was not feeling any pain,
but just wasn't her usual perky self. I gave her a little scratch, which
she seemed to respond to...even through all of the drugs. From there, we
walked her every two hours (after the drugs wore off), and tried to get her
to drink some water or eat some bran mash. Then, we would give her another
shot to keep her comfortable, and hope for a bowel movement. We kept hearing
lots of gut noises, which sounded promising, but the right side of her belly
was becoming quite distended. The vet came out again several times, and said
that since she was comfortable and her vitals were normal that we could wait
it out and see what happens. We felt good about that, and decided to give
her a chance. She was such a trooper in all of that snow and cold. We would
walk her up and down the path, and even trotted her to see if we could get
anything moving. She was whinnying to the horses., but it wasn't her usual
whinny. You could tell she was sick, but still she kept at it.
At the very end, she began to turn away from us when we came to her stall
to check on her. That didn't seem to be a good sign. Then, we started smelling
a horrible smell in her mouth. I thought it might be from the drugs, but
Sarah confirmed with the vet that it was due to her intestine rupturing.
So, Sarah took her up to a spot on the hill and pet her and gave
her friend one last kiss before the vet laid her gently down.
She is now buried in a nice spot on the hill, right by where she so stoically
fought to live. She will be remembered always, not as just a horse, but as
a friend.
Goodbye Distel...love you.
You've Got A Friend
When you're down and troubled
and you need some lovin' care
and nothin', nothin' is going right.
Close your eyes and think of me
and soon I will be there
to brighten up even your darkest night.
You just call out my
name,
and you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
all you have to do is call
and I'll be there...
You've got a friend.
If the sky above you
grows dark and full of clouds,
and that old north wind begins to blow.
Keep your head together and call my name out loud
Soon you'll hear me knocking at your door.
You just call out my
name
and you know wherever I am
I'll come running, running, yeah,
to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer or fall
all you have to do is call
and I'll be there, yes I will.
Now, ain't it good to
know that you've got a friend,
when people can be so cold.
They'll hurt you, yes, and desert you,
and take your soul if you let them.
Oh, but don't you let them.
You just call out my
name
and you know wherever I am
I'll come running, running, yeah,
to see you again.
Winter spring summer or fall,
all you've got to do is call,
and I'll be there, yes I will...
You've got a friend.
You've got a friend.
Ain't it good to know
you've got a friend.
Carole King
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Distel
