Goodbye, Miss Ellie
Sep. 26th, 2004 07:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
murakoziHeck. Yesterday wasn't a bad day. Today, on the other hand, seems to be following in the footsteps of the past couple weeks.
I got a little bit of a late start, going to the barn this morning to work, because I was waiting for some laundry to finish in the dryer. It was only a little delay and no big deal. Turns out there was an accident on the beltway, though, and that made a 40 minute trip into a 90 minute trip. I didn't get to stop at the market to pick up some carrots, so no treats for the horses this week. While all that was frustrating, it wasn't really too bad.
Not long after I'd arrived I asked Don if Miss Ellie was lame or off this week. She wasn't in her stall, so I assumed she wasn't able to work and was in the pasture. That's when I found out - Ellie is dead. She'd been colicky Monday, and the vet had been out. She improved, but went downhill Tuesday morning. Again she was doing better in the afternoon. Wednesday she finally had one heck of a bowel movement, which is usually a pretty good sign, and had perked up quite a bit. Thursday morning she suddenly went downhill, and rather quickly, she died. There's no real way of knowing what caused it all in the first place. Apparently, the bloodwork and such the vets had done showed that she had some issues with her liver, and the word 'cancer' had bounced around. She was an old girl, in her early 30's, but up until the end was in pretty good shape. I guess the long off and on colic just wore her down until the other problems finished her off, or she just lost her will and gave up on staying alive.
I never rode Ellie. I'm too big for a horse her size. Still, she was my favorite mare at the barn. A friendly, honest little mare, who'd grumble but didn't refuse what you asked her to do. When she was younger, folks jumped with her, and she jumped more deer-like than horse-like. Two things that always stood out to me about her were the fact she seemed to be in heat far more often than the other mares, and her obsession with my belt buckle. She was strong in her conviction that my belt buckle was edible. Most any chance she got she'd lip and tug at it, stubbornly refusing to believe it could be otherwise. I don't know why my buckle was any different from anyone else's, but apparently it was. As for her being in heat so much, we often joked that we sould all chip in and pay a stud fee so the poor girl could get some relief.
Anyway, she's gone now. Hopefully to a better place, where there's plenty of grass, nobody on her back, a nice handsome stallion, and all the buckles can be eaten.
I got a little bit of a late start, going to the barn this morning to work, because I was waiting for some laundry to finish in the dryer. It was only a little delay and no big deal. Turns out there was an accident on the beltway, though, and that made a 40 minute trip into a 90 minute trip. I didn't get to stop at the market to pick up some carrots, so no treats for the horses this week. While all that was frustrating, it wasn't really too bad.
Not long after I'd arrived I asked Don if Miss Ellie was lame or off this week. She wasn't in her stall, so I assumed she wasn't able to work and was in the pasture. That's when I found out - Ellie is dead. She'd been colicky Monday, and the vet had been out. She improved, but went downhill Tuesday morning. Again she was doing better in the afternoon. Wednesday she finally had one heck of a bowel movement, which is usually a pretty good sign, and had perked up quite a bit. Thursday morning she suddenly went downhill, and rather quickly, she died. There's no real way of knowing what caused it all in the first place. Apparently, the bloodwork and such the vets had done showed that she had some issues with her liver, and the word 'cancer' had bounced around. She was an old girl, in her early 30's, but up until the end was in pretty good shape. I guess the long off and on colic just wore her down until the other problems finished her off, or she just lost her will and gave up on staying alive.
I never rode Ellie. I'm too big for a horse her size. Still, she was my favorite mare at the barn. A friendly, honest little mare, who'd grumble but didn't refuse what you asked her to do. When she was younger, folks jumped with her, and she jumped more deer-like than horse-like. Two things that always stood out to me about her were the fact she seemed to be in heat far more often than the other mares, and her obsession with my belt buckle. She was strong in her conviction that my belt buckle was edible. Most any chance she got she'd lip and tug at it, stubbornly refusing to believe it could be otherwise. I don't know why my buckle was any different from anyone else's, but apparently it was. As for her being in heat so much, we often joked that we sould all chip in and pay a stud fee so the poor girl could get some relief.
Anyway, she's gone now. Hopefully to a better place, where there's plenty of grass, nobody on her back, a nice handsome stallion, and all the buckles can be eaten.
