Coping with loss, advice?

I feel so much for all of you that have lost their friend. I lost my lovely old lad 15 months ago, and I still miss him as much today as I did back then. I have had a few horses over the years, and loved them all, but this old boy really got into my very being. I have another horse who has been my rock through it all and has helped me enormously, and I love him dearly, but there are no hard and fast rules in dealing with loss of something that has shared your life for so long. I try to remember the happy times with him, his funny little ways, and I have lots of photos. Just grieve in your own way and don't feel bad or silly about it. I don't care what people think of me when I talk about him. He meant too much to me to care about what they think.
 
indie999 said:
I have just come back from having old boy PTS by injection couple hours ago, which I thought was so kind I have been dreading it going wrong, he had a sedative and fell asleep whilst eating two apples(he never finished the 2nd). I think the thing I feel is he was looking trustingly at me and suspiciously at the vet. I am having mega guilt and feel I have betrayed him. What an awful experience. I am use to people dying but not my bestest friend. I can really now understand when people say its hard. They really are your friend and I suppose animals are such levellers. I dont have anyother horses and will have to go and tidy up his field which I feel so sad about. Really the end of an era. I think all the responses on here are good as we all know what it feels like. At the moment I never want to go through this again. Realistically I know he had a good life and was well cared for.
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*hugs* I'm so so sorry! I know how you feel though, I felt exactly the same when Holly my cat was PTS. I felt so guilty, like her death was completely my fault, even though she had started to suffer and it was for the best. I've never witnessed a death quite like that before, it was awful. It was back at the beginning of April, but it still is far too fresh and painful.
OP, thanks for posting this thread, it's comforting (thought not nice) to have others in the same boat.
 
I lost my girl 6 months ago today after 17 years. Today hasn't been a particularly good day but as others have said time is a great healer. Don't be hard on yourself they are such a huge part of your life and when they are not there anyone it is like you have lost part of yourself! I still find it hard to look at photos and stuff and I still haven't been able to cope with moving her rugs from the tack room but I will one day just when I'm ready! Your not alone OP!
 
I lost my old boy very suddenly to colic; although he was 28 he was in excellent health until then - that was 4 years ago. I found it strangely comforting to go to the yard and be about his things and smell him, I still go to that yard and see his stable which makes be sad but smile remembering and his little ways. I took me several months to be able to talk about it anyone but my closest horsey friend and it was ag ood year before I could look at his photos. Time as in the passage of time and time spent with other horses has help but he will remain my very special boy.
 
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