Oh Mr. Sun Sun, little did I know that my penchant for rescuing the unwanted horses would someday cause such pain. You were such a gentle soul who gave the greatest gift of all. You offered me your trust. You enriched my life, & that of my dear friend. We will both miss you & hold a place in our hearts for you always.
I will now always regret the day I brought that quarter horse gelding home from the auction. At the time it seemed the right thing to do. A young, healthy horse whose future was in danger. Everyone knows low end auctions are just a step away from the slaughter bound trucks. I just couldn't let a horse with so much potential travel that road. Justin had all the physical attributes to be a good athlete. I had visions of him going down the endurance trail with his effortless trot. Who could have guessed that powerful hindend would someday wreck havoc on one of the sweetest horses I have ever known.
On August 24th, 2011, 2 1/2 years after being saved at auction, Justin cornered Sun, kicking repeatedly & shattering Sun's knee. There was nothing the vet could do but end Mr. Sun Sun's pain. I know it's not rational to blame one horse for kicking another as that's what horses do. But right now I'm not rational & I DO blame Justin. While I hope he makes a great cattle horse for his new owner, I hope to never hear of him again.
Rest in peace sweet Sun. And thank you for sharing your life with me.
That is so sad. I could never be rational about that horse again. I had a gaited mare who took an irrational dislike to our dinky little Arab mare and tried to kill her one evening. I opened the gate and Eleca blasted through safely, thank God I was there when it happened. Poor Sun.
ReplyDeleteThanks Phaedra, this one was a very hard loss as he was one of those horses who grabbed your heart. I don't even try to be rational where kickers are involved. I won't keep a horse who's a kicker or who attacks the other horses. Just not safe.
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