Just a quick update.
We lost Robert at the end of March. I knew he was very old, but he was healthy and happy still. He went down to roll and seemed to lose the ability to move his hind legs. It was sudden and unexpected.
We are really struggling with his barnmate Marlin. They were the only two horses we had for years and were very bonded. I was able to borrow a mare from a friend that same day, and have since been given a pony gelding as a companion. For the first week or so, Marlin was almost dangerous to himself and us. Heās had two minor colics. He was in such a frenzy - in a 12x24 stall - that we couldnāt catch him and he actually had a bloody nose. During his career as a speed horse, he never showed signs of bleeding and was never run on lasix, so this was totally unexpected.
Marlin has now become extremely attached to the mare. He panics when she is out of his sight. She is in the pen pictured here, and he is stalled. They trade places every day. They are not turned out together and canāt actually touch each other. The plan is for her to go home soon, and weāll start putting the pony closer to Marlin to see if heāll buddy up to him. Weāve also put him on reserpine but I havenāt seen a lot of improvement. It makes him drowsy, but he still panics when he thinks he is alone. Heās been hauled and shown for years, and has always been fine alone or with any other horseā¦ just a solid good citizen. Watching him struggle has made this whole situation even worse.
Not sure what to do. I guess time heals, but itās been rough.
Poor you, and poor Marlin 
