When I first laid my eyes
on you in August 2004, I knew I had to have you. I watched your skinny, tired
body double-back two young teenagers all night. You were so tired while you
waited for your turn in the ring that you were falling asleep while standing
with the two young riders still mounted.
When it was your turn to
enter the ring, I didn't bid on you due to the fear of making a wrong decision.
I let you slip away. Not a single person bid on you that night.
The next day I was determined
to track you down. I finally found your seller and you arrived at the farm
on August 18, 2008, just skin and bones. You were now on your way to better
health.
The following week we went
on our first trail ride together.. You listened so perfectly. We went for
a hour trail ride into the forest with my stepfather, Terry and his horse,
Jack. While at the lookout point, my stepfather and his horse got kicked
by a young quarter horse. Terry was badly injured, bleeding from his leg
and not able to walk. Terry's horse was also injured walking on just three
legs. You carried Terry all the way back to the trailer while I walked in
front with Spirit. You behaved so well while carrying an injured
rider.
The following week I had
your shoes removed and you were trimmed. The farrier informed me that your
feet had not been done for a while and he took off 2 inches of growth along
with some corns from wearing the shoes so long. The next day your hooves
cracked and broke to the point that it hurt you to walk. You were re-shod
and not ridden for one year while you recovered. Once recovered, we went
trail riding every weekend without fail. We went through some pretty rough
times as well as some pretty scary times.
I remember one trail ride
we were on so clearly. We were galloping on loose sand and you lost your
footing, allowing your front legs to disappear underneath you. You hit the
ground on your chest sending me flying over your head. We both slid through
the sand face first. When I stopped sliding, I was covered in sand. It was
in my ears, up my nose and in my mouth. I looked behind me to see you already
on your feet sneezing out sand from your nose. You had sand in your nose,
mouth and ears just as I did.
We had a tragedy too. We
were on our way home from a trail ride in the truck and trailer. While driving,
the trailer kicked out, swaying side-to-side uncontrollably. The truck was
out of control and when it finally stopped, we had spun around 180 degrees.
I looked out the window of the truck and to my horror, the trailer, with
you in it, was on its side 20 feet away from where the truck stopped. I jumped
out of the truck and ran to you. You were kicking and thrashing trying to
get out, but you were stuck. You had the divider pole behind your rear end
and another horse in there with you. I was horrified. When you finally settled
down and gave up trying to get out, I climbed into the small two horse trailer
and sat on your side. You lay there quietly. You knew I was going to help
you. I repositioned all your legs and the horse’s legs. You both remained quiet. Once I had your legs where you needed them, a couple of men pulled on the bar behind your rear end to move it out of the way while at the same time I rocked you, cueing you to stand and you did. You scurried out of the trailer, while ducking because you were too tall to stand completely. Amazingly, you came out unharmed except for a few scraps on your head. Once you were out, the second horse came out without a problem. We were so lucky.
When I first laid my eyes
on you in August 2004, I knew I had to have you. I watched your skinny, tired
body double-back two young teenagers all night. You were so tired while you
waited for your turn in the ring that you were falling asleep while standing
with the two young riders still mounted.
When it was your turn to
enter the ring, I didn't bid on you due to the legs and the horse's legs.
You both remained quiet. Once I had your legs where you needed them, a couple
of men pulled on the bar behind your rear end to move it out of the way while
at the same time I rocked you, cueing you to stand, and you did. You scurried
out of the trailer while ducking because you were too tall to stand completely.
Amazingly, you came out unharmed except for a few scrapes on your head. Once
you were out, the second horse came out without a problem. We were so lucky.
We had many good times together,
too many to list. Our bond was so great, nobody could break it. Until September
18, 2008, you didn't want to eat your dinner. Your legs and rump felt cold
to the touch. You didn't seem to be showing any signs of being in pain but
I called the vet anyway. The veterinarian arrived at 8:30 pm. She gave you
an examination and concluded you were colicky. Your symptoms were very mild;
there was no rolling, kicking or biting at your sides. She could not find
a blockage that she could reach, so she gave you medication and believed
you would be fine in the morning.
The next morning, September
19, 2008, I arrived to do the morning chores at 7:15 am. I expected you to
be your normal self and anxious for your food. When I looked into your stall,
you were standing at the back of your stall. I could see that you didn't
look right. Your eyes were bloodshot and you were leaning on the stall wall.
I called you, and you nickered and began walking toward me. On your way,
you ran into the wall three times before you reached me at the stall door.
Your head was covered in blood, you were sweating profusely, and you didn't
have good balance. You continued to nicker at me, happy to see me even though
you were in such bad shape.
I ran to the house and called
the veterinarian again. I told her you looked in extremely bad shape. You
didn't have good balance, your breathing was laboured and you were sweaty
head to toe. She rushed to see you, gave you pain killers and sedated you
so she could give you a thorough examination. She looked at your gums, which
were purple. She told me you had an extreme circulatory problem.
The sedative kicked in and
made you want to lie down. I guess you knew if you laid down, you were never
going to get back up. You jumped up onto your weak, unbalanced legs and burst
out of the stall running into the barn wall. That is where you stood for
your last time. A couple of minutes later, you fell to the ground, still
struggling to stand. You laid there for another minute and tried one more
time to stand. It was then the vet informed me that you were dying. I requested
you to be euthanized, but before we had the chance to prepare the medication,
you passed away.
Your death came as an extreme
shock to everyone including the vet due to your mild symptoms of colic the
night before. You died of extreme colic where your intestines twisted and
part of them died off. This caused toxic shock. I love you, Thunder,
rest in
peace.
Your loving
Mother
Thunder 
