Sudden death of my beloved mare

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KAB

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My 19 yr old very young looking RID 16.1 Mare had a slight touch of laminitis over last couple of weeks nothing too bad just a little lame on front hoof. I was giving her 1 sachet bute twice daily along with 1.5 cups of Farriers Formula since Saturday 28th June. She was on very poor pasture as she was always prone to overweight, the vet saw her on Monday to xray front hoof and gave her a condition score of 7/8 he said she was ok and looked in great condition for her build. Her paddock is just outside my house and I gave her farriers formula and 1 bute at 10.30pm on Monday night and when I got up at 7.40am on Tuesday morning she was lying in her paddock dead, it looked like she had collicked as she had been up and down 4 different places in the field. I just buried her as I didnt think a pm would have shown anything, now I am racked with guilt as I have read that horses on poor pasture can take in dirt if on poor pasture which can bring on colic, or maybe it was the bute mixed with farriers formula. My friend thinks it might have been brain tumor. Has anyone else out there had any dreadful similar experience. I am so broken hearted,her name was Steffi and she was born in the same field that she died in.
 
I lost 2 much loved RIDs last year to colic - my 22 year old stallion and a 22 year old mare. The stallion's heart gave out as I was going to the phone to call the vet back to end it. The mare appeared to have made a full recovery - and was fine at an 11pm check - and dead by 7pm.

It's perfectly normal to agonise over whether you could have done something different - and even what the ruddy cause was. Try not to though. Raj didn't look old at 22 - and hell, his father is still alive in America. But colic ......
 
I lost my boy with no warning :( I feel horribly gulity as I fractured my spine in a riding accident and just that day had been in the tack shop saying he would have to be loaned out as he would be too sharp for me. I said some not nice things. I didnt mean them, I'm just always chatting crap! We came back to the field and he was dead :( Looked lik he literally dropped dead in his tracks. He was only 7. He hadnt had a good start in life but I'd worked hard to rectify it. Still breaks my heart that he was finally well and happy and then he died.

I lost a youngster about 2 months after. No idea if it was related or not, but I moved my other boy ASAP! Gave up 13 acres of good old pasture and went back to livery. I couldnt risk another one and I still cant forgive myself for losing the youngster (PTS rather than found dead) but still absolutely horrific!

I think all you can do is grieve and then move on. Theres still the odd day I bawl my eyes out, but I know both boys ad the best life any horse could wish for, so I did the best I could
 
I just wanted to say so sorry for your loss. I lost my beloved ISH mare at 17 yrs old to stress laminitis; she had severe rotation and sinkage, so whilst my mare's was not weight related it was laminitis nonetheless and you were right to be be super careful with diet. Colic is extremely cruel and often strikes with no rhyme nor reason. You like most owners were striving to do the best for your horse so please don't torture yourself with possible causes for her death that you could have prevented. The reality is you likely couldn't have prevented anything.
 
So sorry, don't blame yourself. I lost my mare 3 years ago, she got colic while I was at work, vet, equine hospital, operation. She had a tumour that caused the colic, no one could have known, she is now in Rainbow bridge waiting for me, as is yours is waiting for you.
 
I am so sorry to hear about poor Steffi, I also lost my mare of a lifetime to Laminitis not a day goes by when I don't think of them.

Don't blame yourself, I very much doubt it was the feed involved or the dirt you would have warning signs like diarrhea, weight loss, You can't watch them 24 hrs a day.

RIP Steffi
 
Might have been colic but it might equally have been heart - I have lost a couple suddenly rather like that (found dead in the field) and assume it was heart attacks. Don't beat yourself up - a horse vet I knew said to me years ago if you have animals you will have deaths. I hope you have some lovely memories of her and that you find another nice horse soon.
 
So sorry to read your sad story. We all go through the anguish of should I have done something different.

You sound like a very caring owner who did all the right things for you mare. Don't beat yourself up and remember your happy times together.
 
I'm so sorry OP, that is truly heartbreaking for you. Don't over analyse or question...it has happened and making yourself ill with guilt when you've done everything you could for her is not going to bring her back or help you grieve.

Look after yourself and make sure you have some good support there xxx
 
Oh dear, what a dreadful shock and every owners worst nightmare. I lost my beloved RID to colic at just 13. Much research is done on colic but it remains unpredictable and devastating. As horses age they can develop fatty lumps, lymphoma I think the name is, that flip over the intestine and cause colic.

My little companion mare was lost recently, I fed her at 5pm and she was her normal cheeky self, I did the yard and at the final look over the doors prior to closing the yard at 7pm I thought her expression wasn't quite right, she was pts at 8.30pm in agony. She was a big age but the speed she went at was unbelievable.

Try to remember the good times OP, remember you gave the mare the best possible life and home. Kindest regards.
 
So sorry for your loss. Please don't blame yourself, it's clear from your post you loved her dearly and did everything possible.

Take care, big hugs x
 
Am so sorry for your loss, it must have been an awful shock. Please don't blame yourself, it's too easy to do so. Take comfort in the fact that you shared many happy times together.
 
So sad for you KAB but you should feel happy that she died at home in familiar surroundings without being poked and prodded. It's the way we'd all like to go when our time comes!
Take care of yourself and don't blame yourself, sadly these things happen xxxx
 
i'm so sorry for your loss its such a shock :(
i lost a 15 year old mare the same way , she was fine on the tuesday night feeling really fresh and naughty (thank god i was just laughing at her) full of beans and looked fantastic
she was dead at 6am the next morning , it was such a devastating shock she was my world at the time

she was insured and had to have a PM for them , it was discovered she had a twisted gut and couldn't have been saved , even if i'd been there through the night
i asked myself all the questions you are and there was just nothing that could have been done to save her , nothing caused it , there are no answers , my vet simply said these things happen and there are no answers its just unlucky

if there were signs of colic i think thats what has happened and there is no reason for it , i know its hard but try not to blame yourself , she was a very lucky horse these days to have been in the same home all her life
 
Sounds like colic. If you didn't see it it is hard to say obviously, but im thinking that the feed at 10:30pm was too much, maybe she took in air. I generally never feed that late at night, because if they do colic due to feed issues then you are going to have a check before bed and able to spot it. But don't feel guilty, many horses who get the best vet treatment as soon as the owner spots them look at their tummy still pass away, its just one of those things. RIP mare, run free.
 
She sounds like she was very much loved. I would feel far from guilty, if I were you; not many horses get to go in the comfort of their familiar field. Even fewer go nearly 20 years later, in the same field in which they were born.

You gave her a home for life and she didn't suffer long. I think you can be rather proud that her life was so secure and her final resting place was so poignant.
 
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