Evitaa

Evitaa

(*Nabytek x Seranade by *Serafix)

bay, arabian mare, 3/30/80-2/3/01

In the fall of 1999, my then business partner, & still close friend Tammy, called me about a *Serafix granddaughter for sale in San Diego County. If I remember right, she was priced at $1500.00. I had been wanting a mare of *Serafix breeding so even though Evitaa was 1/2 Polish, I sent Tammy to look at her. I was living in N CA & Tammy was in Orange County, so within an easy drive to "horse shop".

Tammy reported back that Evitaa was a big mare with good bone & substance, had a sweet disposition, & was very pretty. She also saw two of Evitaa's 1/2 arab, pinto fillies & they were also very nice. She sounded like a nice mare so all Tammy & I had to do was decide if we wanted to spend that much money for another mare. We decided to think about it while I waited to have pictures sent to me. A couple days later Tammy got a call from the owner who said she had to get the mare sold & wanted to know what we'd offer for her. She said she was getting a divorce & Evitaa had to be moved ASAP. We wondered why it was only Evitaa that had to disappear immediately & we both thought the woman's story was suspect so we told her we'd consider & get back to her. A couple days later she called Tammy & said she'd deliver Evitaa to Tammy in San Juan Capistrano for a total of $200. DEAL! On 12/13/99, Evitaa became the newest addition to Dream Catcher Arabians.

A few days after "V" arrived in SJC, Tammy called to tell me she was lame. Great, what had we gotten into? A few days later I saw "V" for the first time when I drove to S CA to visit friends & family for Christmas. It was obvious that someone had trimmed her extremely short just before her arrival. Luckily it only took her a few days for her feet toughen back up & she was sound. She was everything I thought she would be. Big, beautiful & a sweetie. On 12/27/99 she made the trip to N CA with a few unloaded rest stops along the way. She was wonderful the entire trip. To this day I still wonder about what the real truth was behind Evitaa's sale. Something just wasn't right about the story, but we'll never know.

That spring we bred Evitaa but her ultrasounds showed her not pregnant. It was a disappointment because we really thought she'd give us a super nice foal. My vet thought the reason for her problems might have been a combination of uterine fluid & what he called a "sloppy" uterus. Whatever the reason, it was a big disappointment. We had made a commitment to "V" so she became our "pasture puff". It wasn't for another 5 months that my mom asked me if "V" was pregnant. I said no, unfortunately. But my mom was convinced "V's" belly had THAT round to it. So off to the vet we went. You can imagine the surprise my vet, Dr Wulf, & both experienced when he palpated & found a foal. I was so excited. I'm sure the smile never left my face for the next week. We were having an Evitaa baby.

A week later I came home from work to find "V" colicking. My friend Eric was also there & he helped me with her while we waited for Dr Wulf to arrive. I think Eric & I both knew that this was no mild colic & that "V" was in a bad way. She had no reflux when the stomach tube was passed, but she also had no gut sounds. She was medicated & medications were left for me to give through the night. Banamine made her comfortable & she appeared to be getting better. She was not a surgical candidate so we could only hope the meds would do the trick. For the longest time Eric held her head & to this day he says there was a deep emotion connection to "V" that night. As morning dawned it was apparent that "V" was no getting better so I took her in to the vet hospital. She was given IV medications & I left her for further observation. A couple hours later Dr Wulf called to say the meds weren't making "V" comfortable so it was time for to make a decision. With that our beautiful Evitaa was released from her pain & laid to rest.

It was such an emotional roller coaster for those few weeks. First with the joy of an upcoming foal, & then the devastation of losing a wonderful mare. Upon necropsy it was found that Evitaa had a strangulating lipoma & even if we'd opted for surgery, she wouldn't have survived. It was months later before I found out that she had been carrying a colt. For Eric & I both, we'll never forget the sad look in Evitaa's eyes that last night. She was definitely a horse who touched us deeply & effected us for life. Rest in peace & run free sweet "V".