I Feel Just Terrible

My older sister has recently re-devoted her life to our favorite past time, horse back riding. She and I grew up riding and both had horses by the time we were teens. We rode for years and years, sweeping many horse shows as we went. Once we hit our late teens and twenties we didn't have the time anymore so we both stopped riding.

Several months ago she decided that she was going to buy another horse and get back into riding. She rescued a thoroughbred off the track (J.D.) and it turned out to be a distaster. His years of racing had damaged his body so much he had to be put out to pasture. We were sad to see him go, but were glad that he would spend the rest of his days eating grass and checking out all the mares. A couple of months later she bought Bailey. A beautiful thoroughbred that needed a good home. He hadn't been ridden much so he needed a good bit of work. In the past few months she has spent her days grooming him, riding him, lunging him and getting him back to his "fighting" shape. Although he was a nasty boy some of the time, kicking and biting, he sure had spunk.

A few days ago he started acting funny and showing signs of colic. For those of you who don't know, colic is the leading killer in horses. Horses are unable to regurgitate, so when they get sick their intestines twist and they eventually die. In many cases you can catch it early and the horse can be saved. My sister had the vet out and they treated Bailey for the colic. My sis and my parents spent the next couple of days watching him and keeping him comfortable. We all assumed the worst had passed. Today his behavior took a turn for the worse and the signs of colic came back even stronger. The vet came back out and said that he might not make it.

The trailored him to a veterinary hospital about an hour away. There they gave him an IV and tubed his stomach. My sister and my Mom left him and planned to go back in the morning. The vet called about two hours after they got home and said that he needed surgery. At this point I was a little worried, but still assumed he would be ok. He was in wonderful care and about to have surgery to fix the problem. I was more worried about the cost for my sister. About 45 minutes after my Mom called to say he was in surgery she called again, this time the news was much worse. Bailey had died in surgery. His digestive track was twisted so badly that he could not lived.

My poor sister is absolutely devastated and there is nothing I can do for her. She has spent her days taking care of this horse and now she has nothing. Her world has been ripped from her. That feeling is all too real for me. I know how hollow everyone's words are so I have nothing valuable to say. I will just pray that she does ok and gets through this.