Goodbye Lo Lo

Well, this past weekend was a sad one.

Loretta returned to her previous owner. To make a long story short, it was the best decision as I did not fully own Loretta yet and since she was not getting better, I had to let her go back to her previous owner. I could not continue to pay for Loretta and pay for the feed, treatment, and future vet care that Loretta might need to get better.

And sometimes, just a change in scenery, feed, and lifestyle can be huge to help horses with her issues get better. I know it will be stressful for her at first, but I am hopeful that after she settles in, she will continue to show improvement as she has the past week.

Sunday morning, as I made her mash for her one last time and carried it to her pasture, I began sobbing. You see, I had come to terms with this final decision and had the past week to live with it, and I had been okay. Regardless, I have done nothing but throw myself into taking care of this mare. I haven't wanted to leave town because feeding her is a bit complicated and I want to do it myself. I have watched and logged and tracked her every symptom. It had become my life. And although I am ready for her to go, at the same time it is letting go of your hopes and dreams.....it is still difficult. It will take a while to have closure. Honestly, it's almost worse than having her put down. Because that is what I would have done with her had she not gotten better in the next few months. Now, I really won't know what will happen to her if she does not get better, or gets worse. Those decisions will not be mine to make.
 

The horses nickered as the empty trailer rattled into the driveway. Riley knew that she was leaving when she got into the trailer. He knew the difference from when she is just walking down the road and would be returning.He whinnied and ran around quite a bit.  It only took her 10 minutes of coaxing to get her to jump in the trailer.

After she was gone, I let him into the upper (Loretta's) pasture. He ran around and sniffed all her poop, then found a good place to roll.

Don't fall in the ditch, silly boy!!

I knew when he jumped up he'd take off running, so I grabbed my phone and managed to get a decent shot.


Arthritic hocks, my hiney!!

After that, he settled down and nibbled, just whinnying once in a while.

They say when one (barn) door closes, another one opens. Right? I'm not giving up hope that I will find that perfect up and coming mare for me. I told my dad on the phone last night that I'm not going to go looking, rather, I'm waiting for the right horse to "find me."  So we'll see.......I'll keep you posted.

Ranch Girl