The Comeback Kid! (Edited 1/17/22)

[2DogsFarm]

@Texarkana

Just another chapter in Abby’s book.

Please tell her to end the book ASAP!
No sequel needed!

[Zu_Zu]

Dear Abby …

[JB]

@Zu_Zu

Dear Abby …

omg I just snorted my cocktail up my nose

[beowulf]

For REAL! No sequel needed!!

Thrilled for the good update… but I’ll still provide some drinks for vet-bill commiseration.

[JB]

@Texarkana

Just another chapter in Abby’s book.

One day we should write the whole book. Between your Abby, and my Rio, we probably have most of it covered, including a lot of the “dang, I’ve never had to do this before” vet scenarios

[Texarkana]

Thanks for the laughs @JB @2DogsFarm @Zu_Zu @beowulf. It’s definitely a situation where I just need to laugh because otherwise I start thinking about the vet bill I just acquired on a useless 27 year old, LOL. The things we do for our pets…

I bought this horse when she was 19 years old from a KY breeding farm dispersal advertised on Craigslist. She was $200. She is the full sister of a serious G1 millionaire and world record holder, and the dam of 10 winners including two blacktype stakes winners. At one time, she was a fairly valuable horse, but her owners were getting out of the business and at 19 she really had no resale value. I wanted ONE foal out of her, then I planned to retire her, maybe ride her if her temperament was suitable. Ha! I never got my one foal. But I did get thousands of dollars in vet bills and enough weird experiences to write my own medical journal, so there’s that…

[Zu_Zu]

and a bouquet of long stem
vet wrap

Mother’s Day could be another surprise ?!

kidding aside ~ Bless you for loving and caring for your horses so expertly

[JB]

@Texarkana

But I did get thousands of dollars in vet bills and enough weird experiences to write my own medical journal, so there’s that

I never got my guy to the AAs due to regular injuries and subsequent rehabs, we got to visit a couple different hospitals, had multiple stitched wounds, got quite good at some stall rest, and while I’d never choose those, I learned so, so many valuable things. I guess these guys come to us to make us better.

[Texarkana]

I debated posting this, but yesterday we had to say goodbye to Abby. She was 28 this year.

Saturday morning she came out of her stall acting neuro and ataxic. She was continually, slowly spinning in circles to the right as if she had no control over it. When she would stop, she was standing with her right leg askew and her left leg bearing all of the weight.

The vet found her to be extremely painful along the right side of her spine/pelvis in the area of the SI. We gave her 24 hours of heavy drugs, hoping we could get her comfortable and over the hump. But nothing had any effect. By Sunday morning she was looking worse. She was trembling all over in pain and so unsteady it was a miracle she hadn’t gone down. Despite this, she was still trying to act like a normal horse and eating hay, drinking, fretting over her herd mates, etc. But I didn’t see how I could manage her in that state- even if she could recover from whatever she did to herself, I didn’t know how I was going to keep her safe in the interim and no medication was helping.

She made the decision as easy as it ever is for me.

I bought Abby in 2013 from a Kentucky farm dispersal. She was 19 with her 11th foal at her side. Her owners were getting out of the business and everything was for sale at normal high prices except Abby, who they sold to me for a whopping $200. She was a black type producer, sister to a G1 horse and former world record holder for a mile on the turf, and had even been sold to Europe as a broodmare for a period of time. It became pretty clear why they were willing to get rid of her for no reasonable offer refused after I got her home, because she was seriously the weirdest and one of the most difficult horses I ever owned. It’s hard to explain— she just didn’t react like a normal horse to anything. But once you accepted this, she was really quite easy to get along with. My goal was to get one, maybe two foals out of her. That never happened despite trying with 3 stallions. I did get to keep my veterinary nursing skills up to snuff rehabbing her from catastrophic injury after catastrophic injury.

I kind of don’t know what to do with myself without her high maintenance self on the farm. It took me 10 minutes to feed the horses this morning without her here. I’m sure I will fill her stall soon, but in the meantime it’s definitely lonely.

Thanks for reading.

[NaturallyHappy]

Lucky Abby to have found you.

[SharonA1]

Thank you for being her person, Texarkana.

I was going to welcome you to imagine her in horse heaven, happy and healthy and free from drama, but, then I remembered whom we’re talking about. So, in that case, I hope you’re getting a chuckle over imaging how the angels are coping with this Chestnut mare extraordinaire.

Wishing for peace and comfort that you earned by giving her the home that you did, and hoping that soon there are smiles as you walk past her stall and remember her… Hey, how’d you fix the stall wall that time she kicked it down?

[frugalannie]

So sorry for the loss of such a character. You were the best owner for her, learning from her, understanding her and making the difficult decision when you needed to. Looking forward to hearing about the next very fortunate horse you welcome into your barn.

[Zu_Zu]

Texarkana ((hugs)) laced with comfort and peace ~

RIP ~ Dearest Abby ~ knowing you will always be loved and remembered ~

Abby was lucky to find you and you always helped her negotiate her accidents ~ be proud of your ownership ~

I’m sorry ~ and yes, that “lonely maintenance space is one of the toughest adjustments ~ no need to ask me how I know ~

I will miss Abby too ~

[lenapesadie]

Hugs

[endlessclimb]

Godspeed, Abby you weirdo you. You were loved by an amazing human, for exactly who and what you were.

My condolences, Texarkana.

[ejm]

So sorry. You gave her the best life you could, and a merciful ending.

[Alibhai_s_Alibar]

I’m so sorry

[Bluey]

Sorry she is gone, leaving a big hole indeed, hugs.

[Texarkana]

Thanks everyone. Abby was lucky in some ways and made her own luck by just being so darn tough. She was bred by the Casse family and started her career in training with Canadian Hall of Famer Mark Casse and his ex-wife. She was claimed away from them (I’m sure to their relief) after she showed zero talent and they dropped her in class. She was always in good hands throughout her career as both a racehorse and broodmare, although I imagine no one was sorry to see her go. Her time in Europe was abnormally brief; I liked to joke they stamped “return to sender” on her as soon as she stepped off the plane.

She was definitely slumming it with me by comparison.

I’d like to say it was my great care or my kind heart that kept her going all these years, but that was all her. I tried to euthanize her after her first catastrophic injury in 2013; it was her vet that made me feel like garbage for wanting to euthanize a horse with an open fracture. After spending so much money treating that, I got a little over protective, plus realized she had the uncanny ability to injure herself horrifically yet recover as if nothing happened.

@SharonA1 You nailed it. I wouldn’t be surprised if the horse drops from the heavens with yet another “return to sender” label on her. Everyone on the other side of the rainbow bridge is probably groaning right now.

[Libby2563]

I’m so sorry for your loss! She sounds like an incredible character who was very lucky to land with you.