In Memory of Our Precious
Little Horse
As I sit here writing this
Tribute to Fancy, I'm holding a piece of her mane in my hand, with a huge
empty space in my heart. I'm trying to understand why she had to go so soon.
Everyone tells me she's in a better place. I can only imagine until someday
we will meet her at that better place we call Heaven.
It seems like only yesterday
that I saw the most beautiful little bay horse. She caught my eye and I fell
in love at first sight. She had the biggest brown eyes that sparkled like
the stars. She had a star, stripe and a snip on a muzzle that felt like silk.
She had four white socks and stood at 14 hands. She was so spunky and playful.
Her front legs towed out, but that didn't matter, she could still run like
the wind.
I asked the lady at the boarding
facility, who does that little horse belong to? She said she's for sale.
I looked at my husband and said, I want that horse. The lady told us there
was already another family looking to buy her. We waited about 4 days. On
Saturday morning, the phone rang. The other family decided not to buy her.
We were so excited. We drove over that morning, rode her and bought her.
She was such a little live wire. She bucked my daughter off. We had our trainer's
daughter ride her and help train her and my daughter took riding lessons.
Fancy had her own agenda. It took Fancy a while to grow up. But after about
2 years of training, she turned out to be the best little horse. My daughter
went trail riding with her, she also did barrel racing and pole
bending.
In 2004, Fancy was 10 years old. Our trainer found a stone in her stall.
She told us we should get an x-ray to make sure there were no more. We took
her for the x-ray, sure enough, they found several more stones. The vet told
us this could be dangerous. So we decided to have surgery to prevent a possible
disaster. She had surgery and she recovered and everything was fine.
My daughter continued to compete with Fancy. They went on to win many ribbons,
trophies and finally the Gold buckle, winning the youth division at our local
barrel racing club. Michelle and Fancy were a great team. All the other little
girls would always tell Michelle, "You have such a pretty little horse!".
Michelle would glow with pride and joy. She had her own real live, "My Little
Pony".
In November of 2006, sadly we found another stone in her stall.
So off to the equine hospital for yet another x-ray. She had surgery #2 and
everything went pretty much the same as the first time. We gave her four
months of rest & recovery after the surgery. We were just talking about
getting her ready for competition again when Thursday morning, April 19,
2007, changed everything. I went outside to feed the horses' breakfast, she
was laying down. I thought that was odd. She's always the first one to nicker
at me and say good morning. I ran to the house for help. We got her up. I
noticed her legs and face were all cut up. There were holes in her stall
where she had been pawing. We called the vet, he instructed us to give her
banamine and bring her right in. We made the 30 minute trip to the vet. He
examined her and said she had a high temperature, her gums were white and
her muzzle was cold. He said those were all signs of shock. He said you need
to take her to the equine hospital right away! We were so scared.
We made it there, unfortunately, everyone knew us there from Fancy's prior
two surgeries. The vet did an ultrasound and said her intestines were all
swollen and there was a kink or an obstruction. She was dehydrated. Her stomach
was filled with fluid. They drained over 15 liters of fluid from her stomach
and put her on IVs. The vet explained that this surgery was different from
the others, this one would be more difficult. Unlike before, which was elective
and she was healthy, this time she was a sick little horse. He quoted us
thousands of dollars. The surgeon gave us a few minutes to discuss it. My
husband without question said, "Lets do it.".
They prepped her for surgery.
It broke my heart to see her standing there trembling with pain. She must
have been so scared. We all stayed there with her until time for surgery.
We kissed her and loved her up and tried to reassure her. We took the long
walk with her down the hall to the operating room. The surgeon sedated her
and began the surgery. We were in the room next door observing through a
small window. Everything appeared to be pretty normal, much like her first
and second surgery. After about 40 minutes, it looked as though he was about
ready to stitch her up. Instead he walked away. My heart sank, then I heard
a knock at the door. I felt like passing out. The surgery tech said the Dr.
would like to talk to you. He said her colic problems were chronic and there
was nothing he could do to fix her, that the best thing was to let her go.
I don't wish that moment on anyone. The surgery tech brought out her halter
and her tail and a piece of her mane. I went in the operating room and kissed
her and touched her one last time.
I pick up her piece of mane
every day, it smells just like her. I don't ever want that smell to go away.
On that morning, I asked God to do whatever is best and to watch over her.
I guess this is what was best. The next morning was very painful. I craved
to hear her nicker at me, I craved to touch her again. I leave her gate open
every day to welcome her spirit.
Miss Fancy. We miss you
deeply, you are our bright, shining star. You will be in our hearts forever
and ever. May you rest in peace until we meet again.
Fancy 
