On Friday last week, I had the farrier out o Nick and in the process of trimming his hooves he unearthed an underlying problem we hadn't known about. This was stifle lock, if you want to see youtube clips of what a horse looks like with stifle lock type in "Cowboy Stifle Lock" into youtube and watch the one with the yellow (palomino) horse.
Nick wasn't as severe as Cowboy but he was pretty close. Cowboy was lucky and his owner could afford an operation so he improved and could be used again. I couldn't afford the operation and it was too severe a problem to exercise out and so he couldn't be ridden or sold. Unfortunately this only left one option for me. On Tuesday he was put down, while I wasn't there. On Monday the kids and I said goodbye. I had had him for two weeks and he was a beautiful, gentle, pleasant, dopey horse. I would not have hesitated to put a child on his back.
On Monday afternoon the children said goodbye to him, I tied him to the gate and the little four yr old girl went up and hugged his front leg like it was a tree and he just stood there. He would have been worth the expense if I had had sufficient money to afford the operation and he would have made a perfect riding school horse.
I miss Nick a lot, every time I go out with the kids to ride and feed I am reminded that Nick is no longer there. I have waited for a while so I can write what happened without getting too upset. I cried all day on Monday when I found out, and then I have not cried since.
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