Lost a horse the other day

Lost my personal horse to colic the other day. Vet tried all he could but no dice. The other horses miss her too... Fancy was a good gal and I'll miss her terribly.

Never had to bury a 1500 lb animal before. Not only a physical challenge but emotional too. Took all day and that is with a tractor to dig. Something to consider for horse owners. Without the tractor would have cost a lot to take care of the body.

Sad sad days in the household this week.

Sorry to hear this. I know horses are like kids to their owners. You invest some much time training them, feeding them a balanced diet, DR check ups, bathing them, buying shoes. It is a heart felt loss when they pass. Again, my condolences.

Gazrok said:

Lost my personal horse to colic the other day. Vet tried all he could but no dice. The other horses miss her too... Fancy was a good gal and I'll miss her terribly.

Never had to bury a 1500 lb animal before. Not only a physical challenge but emotional too. Took all day and that is with a tractor to dig. Something to consider for horse owners. Without the tractor would have cost a lot to take care of the body.

Sad sad days in the household this week.

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Deepest sympathies to you and your family. My aunt was a horse breeder and both my kids have a soft side for animals...daughter especially for horses. So please accept my condolences.

Gazrok...I was wondering where you were the last day or two, hadn't seen you post...just thought maybe company came in for the 4th of July or you were traveling.

Will say a prayer tonight for you and the family during this period of grief.

Get some rest.

I'm so sorry for your loss

Sorry to hear that.

Yeah it's sad to lose any animal, especially smart and large ones. I was staying with friends a while back when they had to put their old horse down, heck even I was nearly bawling.

They have 500 acres and no way to bury him, so walked him up the back and put him down there. Marshall (my mate) sat with him for hours. Heck I'm tearing up even now just remembering.



"Tamanang" on his last morning.

I hope I'm not highjacking Gazrok this is about your horse after all, but I thought it's a story worth telling. We all love our four-legged friends and this sort of thing is why I doubt I could ever have another one.

Our animals leave holes in our hearts that can only be filled by other animals. It took me 8 months to take my Mercy's picture off my profile here. I haven't replaced her with Echo's picture yet because Echo and I haven't bonded yet, but she is slowly starting to fill that hole.
The best healing for the loss of a beloved pet is to bond with another and only your heart will tell you when it's time to try that.

Gazrok said:

Lost my personal horse to colic the other day. Vet tried all he could but no dice. The other horses miss her too... Fancy was a good gal and I'll miss her terribly.

Never had to bury a 1500 lb animal before. Not only a physical challenge but emotional too. Took all day and that is with a tractor to dig. Something to consider for horse owners. Without the tractor would have cost a lot to take care of the body.

Sad sad days in the household this week.

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I know how I feel about my animals, it is like loosing a family member. I had a huge great pyraniese dog a few years ago that died, and he was only 160 or so. I was in the same boat with having to dig a hole big enough. I can only imagine dealing with 1500 lbs. I am sorry for your loss. What exactly is colic. I thought it was when they ate too much sand and it clogged them up? I've never really been around horses much, but am intrigued by them. I've heard some say they are just like a really large smart dog.

I hope I'm not highjacking Gazrok this is about your horse after all, but I thought it's a story worth telling. We all love our four-legged friends and this sort of thing is why I doubt I could ever have another one.

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No worries, no thanks for the story. We have two other horses, but were actually in the process of selling one, so especially difficult now too. But, we still will, just as it's too much money to pass up (especially considering the age of that horse), but then we'll be down to one horse. I told the wife we'd take some of the money and get another one (horses like company, and shouldn't be alone...they are herd animals after all).

Not sure about being like a "smarter" dog. Still though, I love the big dumb lugs...and we will miss our gal horribly.

What exactly is colic. I thought it was when they ate too much sand and it clogged them up?

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It's really more the result. Can be caused by lots of things, including what you mentioned. In Fancy's case, was due to bloodworms. Even though we regularly do the standard worming medicine for all our horses, turns out they (old school vets) used to do shots, which killed the worms in the bloodstream vs. just the gut, but then the common practice went to the other medicine which just gets the worms in the gut. We've now gone back to the old method of the shots from here on out.

The problem is that a horse's organs kind of hang there, so when they get stomach issues, their inclination is to roll around, which is the WORST thing they can do, as it can twist up their insides, and cut them off. We kept her from rolling, but from the autopsy, these had been in her a long time, probably since she first had the issue two years ago. (though then, we thought it was from eating cut grass). That's another cause, eating fresh cut grass (the clippings)....so any horse owners should know about that one too. It actually surprised some we spoke to, but two different vets mentioned it could cause it.

Very sad indeed! Sorry Gazrok

We'll have to get another horse soon, but not for a couple months yet. Just one horse gets lonely.

So sorry Gazrok. . . I lost Molly a couple months ago due to the blood worms. Unfortunately where we live for some critters is not good cause we do not have cold enough winters long enough to kill off the worms out in the pastures. I know what some animals can "mean". . .some are just "special" to us for whatever reason, mainly just their temperament and personality.

Same problem here. No cold winters in FL. You should ask your vet about the shots. Had we known, might not have had the issue and might not have lost her.

Sorry to hear that Gazrok. Room mate/wife's best friend just had to put her dog down. Going through the same thing here. I was the only one who could/would play kinda rough with him. Was a boxer mix and miss him. The Chihuahua's we have just don't play like he used to.

I have a Boxer/Pit mix, and 4 Chihuahuas myself. Yeah, they don't play either (the Chihuahuas)...but they are darn cute (and good alarm dogs).

Gazrok said:

Same problem here. No cold winters in FL. You should ask your vet about the shots. Had we known, might not have had the issue and might not have lost her.

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Do you happen to know what this shot is? I asked the vet, but he just recommended the drench we have been using. . . apparently he didn't know what I was talking about when I asked him about it.

I can find out by asking him (or checking my receipt when home).

Gazrok said:

I can find out by asking him (or checking my receipt when home).

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If you don't mind, I'd appreciate. Vet had no idea when I asked about a shot. I have one babe (born Oct 12th 2013) that is fighting this right now. I had separated her out of the heard on Tuesday and gave her a 12 ml dosage of Cydectin. When it first came on, I tried giving her 10 ml of Ivomec. I switch out cause I do not want them to build up immunity. Since Tuesday, she seems to be doing better. I am also giving her immune system a boot by mixing up Malt-O-Meal, throwing in some Oatmeal, honey, Pro-biotics and a ground up multi-vitamin for kids.