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| Tanner in his new career |
Shorty lived to old age with young FarmWife, and was euthanized when his Cushings advanced to an unmanageable level. He was buried on the farm.
Panda was euthanized at age 22. He contracted terminal pneumonia while moving across the country with Bob Hubbard horse transportation. Panda went on the truck in tip-top shape to join FarmWife, who was going to college in Massachusetts. Bob Hubbard kept him longer than they said they would, shipped him farther than they said they would, obscured important information about his location, and returned him weeks late, very ill, and extremely underweight. FarmWife will never forgive them.
Fahrenheit never learned to like to jump, but he left FarmWife's Pony Club home for a very happy dressage career with another owner.
Duracell and FarmWife fell over a cross-country schooling fence when she was 14—neither was seriously hurt, but FarmWife's confidence for jumping was never the same. He went on to compete at Preliminary level with a more advanced rider, and FarmWife went on to college and other horses. He was a good boy, though, and she still misses him.
Painter was too much horse for FarmWife's available time, money, and experience (she was a young single mother and a college student, he a green 7 year-old stallion). He was gelded and sold as a dressage prospect to a talented young rider with ample resources.
Tanner found his niche—while he never learned to enjoy being ridden, he did learn to enjoy being lunged! He went on to be a successful vaulting horse, placing at national level competitions with an ambitious team of young vaulters and serving them well in their lesson program.
Jack Vance went to a dressage home in the Puget Sound area, where his mane is appreciated and allowed to grow to its full potential. He is someone's lifetime horse, now, and FarmWife gets happy updates from time to time.
I am staying with FarmWife forever. Panda and I will remain in her heart for all of her life—we are those sorts of mounts.
Fenway
FenBar; You are very lucky to have FarmWife who realizes that not all Mules and Muleish Horses are cut out for everything. Kudos to her for seeing what Tanner was best suited for and finding a way to make that happen!
ReplyDeleteAlso, poor Panda, as a lover of equines of all kinds that breaks my heart. He sounded like a very good horse with a very kind heart.
Fenway- Panda's story really makes me sad. I also lost a horse due to a transport company. He was a three month old foal that was shipped across the country with Mom. They were supposed to rest him enroute off the trailer but I think got behind and came straight thru. He came got here looking beautiful and full of life but developed pneumonia and died 24 hours later. It was truly one of the worst days of my life. His name was Honest Abe as he had been foaled on Feb 12, Lincoln's birthday. Sorry to go on so, but I can only imagine losing a longtime horse to something like that would be even more heartbreaking. Thank goodness Farmwife found you Fenway.
ReplyDeleteKaren W.