A very, very hard post to write.

[Hannahgb]

I am so incredibly sorry, he sounded such an amazing boy xx

 

[Wheels]

Oh my god, horrendous!

So so sorry for your loss

 

[FfionWinnie]

What a grand time he had with you and what deep sadness we are all feeling to read this awful news. Words are so inadequate.

 

[StarcatcherWilliam]

I'm so sorry to read this sad thread. What a beautiful boy he was. Don't feel guilty, you did what you could to save him and he'd appreciate that. Sounds like you gave him a lovely life. I'm sat here in tears for you. Sending you massive hugs xxx

 

[Nudibranch]

Good grief, how incredibly sad. So sorry to hear this.

 

[wren123]

Oh Michen, so so sorry x

 

[Cortez]

Oh you poor thing, such very bad luck. But you know, you did your best for him, you tried as hard as you could and that is all you can do. Life, for all living things, is finite.

 

[tatty_v]

I'm so terribly sorry for you xx

 

[limestonelil]

Such a sad post Michen sending you a virtual hug. You did your absolute best for both of them. So sad

 

[alainax]

You poor soul, so very sad. Don't blame yourself for putting him through it, you were trying to give him a chance. You were dealt a horrible hand, no matter which choice you chose the outcome was going to be the same.

 

[DabDab]

That was heartbreaking to read, you poor poor thing, I'm so sorry X

 

[Micropony]

You did your very best for him, nobody could have done more. You have been so unlucky you poor girl. So very sorry x

 

[Hoof_Prints]

Heartbreaking news you did your best by him, it's hard to find the words, so sorry xx

 

[southerncomfort]

Oh this is dreadful news. I'm so very sorry for you. You must be absolutely heartbroken.

xx

 

[Pinkvboots]

I am so so sorry you did all you could for him x

 

[alwaysbroke]

How absolutely horrible for you, so so sorry to read this x

 

[milliepops]

You poor soul, so very sad. Don't blame yourself for putting him through it, you were trying to give him a chance. You were dealt a horrible hand, no matter which choice you chose the outcome was going to be the same.

This

Another who was thinking of you yesterday and desperately hoping for better news. There's nothing to feel guilty about, you will come to realise this , though I understand when everything is so raw you will rake over every decision trying to make sense of it. But there IS no sense, you did what all of us would have done faced with those choices, but cruel fate swept him away from you. So, so sorry xxx

 

[Pink_Lady]

I couldn't read and run ... sending you heartfelt condolences

 

[rara007]

Just awful I'm sorry

 

[Clodagh]

I am so incredibly sorry.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Michen I am so sorry for your loss RIP Basil xx

 

[scats]

My heart is breaking for you, I am so terribly sorry that this happened. You were put in a very difficult situation and you did what you felt was right for him.

Can't think of anything else to say other than to send you the biggest hug ever x

 

[Tyssandi]

I can't quite believe I am writing another thread like this less than two years after loosing Torres, a horse I very much still cry for. I know a lot of you have seen things on facebook but here is what happened. Maybe it will help to write it all down.

Just over a week ago Basil got a kick to the leg above the knee, it was very swollen and the vet immediately called. The swelling went down by Wednesday and he was sound in walk and trot but the area was a little warm so he was rested regardless. On Saturday afternoon I got the random call that he was colicing. B has a large hernia from a abdominal surgery that he had three/four years ago where he ate some wire and got severe peritonitis. He has never, ever coliced since and nor has it presented him with any problems. The vet came out and found he was very gassy, within half an hour he had gone from looking horrendous to back to his normal bouncy self. She did however check the leg and find some lumps that she wasn't sure was soft tissue but she was relatively unconcerned though we decided we would x ray on Monday.

He remained fine (on starvation) all night. He did a big poo in the morning. I bought him copious bottles of ice tea to get him drinking (he loves it). I sat outside his stable and hand fed him soaked hay, small mouthful at a time to trickle feed him. He seemed great, chirpy and his usual self until late morning where he went downhill again. Vet back who this time found a slight impaction. He went straight on the lorry and to the nearest vet hospital.

I can't even begin to describe what was a hellish afternoon. Basil is not insured for anything colic related because of his previous surgery but the vet felt we were a while off needing think about that. They x rayed the leg to make sure that, to the bets of our knowledge, there was no fracture and it was clean. He was lunged, he got worse and on re scan it was a clear cut case of put him down or try the surgery. I always said I would never put a horse through colic surgery, I've read the horror stories. I've seen the statistics about re colic. I know how painful it is for them. But I have to say that in that moment there was just no way I could put that horse down without trying, regardless of cost.

He went in, they found the twist. She warned me it would be not easy post op given his hernia and adhesions from the previous surgery. But that the surgery went as well as it possibly could have for what was a serious colic and his bowel was in good nick as we got in there quickly. I was so relieved he made it through the surgery, I was fully expecting a call to say they couldn't even fix him. But he did make it and they did fix him.

The vet called me an hour later whilst I was waiting for confirmation he had stood up ok from the anaesthetic to ask for permission to put him to sleep, his leg had shattered as he got up.

I cannot even begin to put into words how I currently feel. I knew there was a small risk that there was a hairline fracture there that wasn't showing on x ray yet but it seemed so small, so unlikely that he could be so unlucky. I feel completely wrecked with guilt that he woke up confused, in pain and for his leg to be the thing that got him. Dying in hospital with no familiar faces and a broken leg. I questioned the decision to put him through surgery every second, but I would do it again in a heartbeat if in reality if I thought there was even a slim chance that pony could be saved.

I loved Torres, I am so glad he came to me and I'm so happy I had even a short amount of time with him. He was adored and I still feel desperately sad that he couldn't be fixed.

But Basil was just my best mate, my absolute partner in crime. He made life so endlessly fun and in 15 years of horses I have never met one with such a humorous and beautiful personality. We read each other like clock work, you never really felt like you were "riding" Basil, merely a passenger on one of his adventures or ideas. He reduced me to tears after many a cross country because of his honesty and trust. He had such an incredible joy for life given he had already had a very tough past medically, it was truly amazing to see him blossom.

The majority of the decisions about life that I have made in the last year have been around Basil. He was the biggest, best part of my life and that is always a precarious position to be in with an animal so fragile. I have loved every second with him. I loved the horsey life he gave me and I was immensely looking forward to our first "proper" season British Eventing but mostly I just loved him being around and would have been grateful for him just being an oversized pet dog.

Losing Torres was incredibly hard but losing Basil is not something I think I will ever get over and it's left me wondering exactly how life can be so cruel. For now I will close this horsey chapter of my life, maybe one day I will feel differently.


There is so much more I want to be able to say about my wonderful boy but for now I just have no more words. Xxx

Oh Michen I don't know where to begin to say how deeply sad I feel for you. (having lost many animals within a short time+ my dad in 4 years)


No words to say except wishing you support to help you through this tragic time. xx

 

[GoldenWillow]

I am so, so sorry, that is heart breaking x

 

[Michen]

Thank you everyone. Still in shock but I did just manage to speak to his vet properly since last night. She said the stress fracture would only have been diagnosable by bone scan and even then they had an ex racer last week that scanned clean but the fracture gave way. That the immediate treatment would have been to be cross tied in a box for two months (he would never have coped with being cross tied) and that the likelihood is that as he was sound I would have bought him back into work and that the leg would have given way mid gallop or something horrendous. He was immediately re anesthetised when it broke, whilst they assessed and called me so j take a little comfort in knowing he was not in any pain whilst they had to make the call. Xxx

 

[Lanky Loll]

So so sorry, RIP Basil xx

 

[Lintel]

I'm so sorry.
My thoughts are with you.

 

[Pippity]

I'm so sorry, Michen. He was such an amazing little horse.

 

[Dynamo]

How utterly and completely heartbreaking for you. Horses, for all their strength and power, can be incredibly fragile creatures. Take things easy and be kind to yourself and I hope that a few words from H&HO are some small comfort. Remember that there are kind, like-minded people here for you at all times.

 

[MissTyc]

That is so terribly terribly sad. A complete nightmare and it must be unreal to you ... I hope you have people around you to support you through this unexpected and devastating loss xx