|
When God decided to create the horse, he spoke to the south wind, "Condense yourself: I shall make of you a new creature to honor my saints, to demean my enemies, as a tribute to those who obey me!" And the south wind said, "Create it, Oh God!" Then God took a handful of the south wind, breathed over it and created the horse. He said, "Your name shall be Arabian. Let goodness be bound to your forelock and bounty to your back. I have made your owner your friend. I have given you the power to fly without wings!" And thus, according to Beduin belief, the Arabian horse was created. And when it was time, an Arabian mare left the tent of her friend and flew to Heaven's gates. For you see, God had whispered in the right ear of the Arabian mare that night, and she knew she had been taken to wait for the appointed day when she would run at the familiar sound of her sweet name called once again. ______________________________________________________________________________________ It is with a broken heart that I find I must make this entry into our website. My embellishment of the well-known Beaudoin story above is how I choose to think of my beloved "Missy" since her sudden death the night of Thursday, July 8, 2004. "Missy" was like an extension of myself- my third child and most loving friend and companion. Experienced horsemen know that the search for a perfect equine match more often than not will go a lifetime without being discovered. Those who have experienced such a bond will understand the feeling of completeness and wholeness that is present in your life when you have found your match. And they will understand the emptiness that pervades your spirit when that match is lost. Missy's body was found early that Friday morning when Melissa came to turn her Paint horse "Rice" out for the day. The other horses in the pasture were extremely agitated, and every muscle stood out on Rice as if he had just run a 10 mile race with a Mountain Lion on his heels. My grief at finding her was overwhelming, and the need to have a reason for her death was the only thing that gave me the strength to get up from the ground by her beautiful face. After an extensive post-mortem exam, the reason was finally made known to us. Gutteral Pouch Mycosis. The description given in the Horse Owner's Veterinary Handbook (second edition) by James M. Griffin, M.D. and Tom Gore, D.V.M. is: "Gutteral Pouch Mycosis (Fungal Infection). Aspergillus species are the most common fungi found in gutteral pouches." ..."the gutteral pouches are dark, warm, humid, and poorly ventilated. These factors favor the growth of a fungus. The most common sign of a gutteral pouch mycosis is unilateral nosebleed. It usually begins as a mild, intermittent epistaxis, followed in 2-3 weeks by a sudden massive hemorrhage. Fungal plaques adhere to the carotid artery and its branches. These arteries pass close to or through the gutteral pouches. Weakening of the arterial wall causes bleeding. When the artery finally ruptures, the horse bleeds massively through the nose." A number of cranial nerve palsies can occur with this disease, but were not seen in our Missy. 2 months prior to her death, Missy had had a swollen right eye accompanied by slight bleeding from the right nostril. When examined by the vet, he determined that it was probably a slight blunt trauma wound that resulted in a small nosebleed and, finding nothing wrong with her eye but the swelling, told us it wasn't necessary to treat the eye with anything, but to allow the swelling to subside with natural healing. The swelling did abate about 75%, but we had the vet look at her again the end of June to make sure there was nothing else we should be doing. His diagnosis and instructions were the same. Missy never went off her feed or seemed uncomfortable in any way other than the very slight squinting of the swollen right eye and the fact that she stopped showing signs of estrus. To say that her death was a shock would be the understatement of 2004. It is my hope that, in reading this story, you will be made aware of this rare disease and, if you are ever unlucky enough to see such symptoms, will be able to recognize the possibility that your horse may be infected and take the correct measures to save him. Horse owners be warned! Aspergillis is often found in moldy hay. Since Missy was on pasture exclusively at the time of her infection it is a stretch to think that this might have been where she picked up the fungus, but our attending vet did say that it can be inhaled from the ground and there was very old hay where she liked to lay down near the top of her favorite grazing hill and her favorite rolling spot. We buried Missy that Friday night on the side of her favorite hill overlooking the house. Her pasturemates were very agitated and stayed at that spot for several days as I'm sure her smell was there and they were confused. Every time I walked past the windows on the north side of our home since we moved here 8 years ago, she was there. Now, when I look out the window I know she is still there where she belongs. At this writing on July 13, two of the geldings in her pasture have gone on with their lives and graze the hill where she is buried, but the older Hackney gelding who was her best friend since weaning, still waits at the gate and the barn next to it for us to bring her back to him. I can't tell him that she won't be coming back- my own mind often plays tricks on me as I look out the windows and find myself searching for her on the hill. But I do know a few things- that God wants what's best for us, and I know that no heaven could be complete without my Missy. So I wait for the day when she runs screaming her greeting as she meets me at the gates of Heaven. For more information on this subject, please contact me at ellen@antiquityhill.com
|
|
|
