Remembering Joe

I decided I would finally sit down and pull some pictures off the camera. I wasn't exactly sure what I would find. I started with pictures from late June/early July. And what beautiful face should I see, but sweet Joe, RIP. The following pictures were taken not long after we brought Joe and Thor home.


You can see in the above picture the issues Joe was having with his hind end. In the end, the vet diagnosed it as a neurological disorder. We kept him in a different pasture but I thought the small hill he walked up and down to get water was causing the problem. We'll never really know what happened. But he was pampered. I dug out a brand new fly sheet and fly boots to protect him so that he wouldn't have to fight flies while being unstable on all four legs.

Here's a closet up (sort of) of Joe's face. This is the reason to NEVER leave a halter on for long periods of time. The rescue that pulled Joe from the auction pulled the halter off and head to deal with the halter having grown into his face. Poor guy.
I have a feeling that Joe was actually much older than 22-25 years old. When I looked into his eyes, there was so much wisdom. When you look into the eyes of younger horses, that wisdom isn't there.

The following are side views of Joe's face. This is why you NEVER leave halters on. I cannot emphasis this enough! Even leaving halters on in a pasture is tabo unless they are breakway halters. Always check your halters to make sure that they fit properly! Otherwise, your poor horse could end up just like Joe.


I forgot in my last post that we lost another soul. He just happened to be two legged with feathers instead. The place doesn't seem the same without Rooster crowing all the time. It's rather dull. We were just starting to teach each other some tricks. RIP Rooster man.


I'll leave you with a final picture of Joe. This picture is one of my favorites of the ones I downloaded here tonight. Looking at Joe motivates me to ensure that all old horses find a soft place to land where they can live out their lives (be it a few years or a few days) and then die with dignity surrounded by loved ones knowing that they will be missed once they cross over.

June 2010 - October 11, 2010