Yesterday was a very difficult day for us at home. We had to say goodbye to a long time part of the family. Our quarter horse, Mandy, has been sick the past month or so, and she wasn’t making any progress, so we had a tough decision to make. At nearly 31 years old, we figured it was time. We’ve only had Mandy here at the house for about 16 months, but my wife has had her for 22 years, so it was a very tough decision to make. But it was for the best – she had lived a long life (in “human” years, she would have been about 82), and up until she got sick, was a very happy girl. We decided to put her down since she hadn’t eaten in the past five days, and it would be better than letting her starve to death. It was hard, but at about 4:10PM on Friday March 6, 2009, she took her last breath. She died as she had lived – a tough old girl. We laid her to rest right next to her barn. Last night, I went through the photos I had of her, and picked a few out as a tribute.
Anne’s Command (Mandy)
May 22, 1978 – March 6, 2009
4 thoughts on “Rest In Peace Mandy”
Tom,
My condolences. Animals can be almost as close as people. I will admit however, it is hard to think of a horse as “pet”
Marty
Marty-
Thank you – it is greatly appreciated.
You know, I thought it was a bit odd when we first decided to move her to the house from my in-laws (Jill’s father was ill, and we took her in to help him out). But after a short while, you get to know the horse and her personality, and it’s no longer an animal, but another member of the family. We would always joke that she was just a 1,000 pound dog! My wife has always had a horse in her life from when she was born, so this is second nature to her.
We’ll get another in the future…
-Tom
Thanks for sending this. I have had that sad experience over and over in my 65 years of raising horses. Not all of them are lucky enough to live with a loving family for such a long time.
Mary Jean