Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Calliope

It's been slightly crazy around here with fall activities.  On top of everything, David went down to the barn and discovered that his pony, Calliope was down.  She was laying in the field on her side, too weak to get up. 


Calliope has been a worry for me all summer.  Ever since her winter coat came out she has been very thin.  David purchased some horse feed for older horses, the type that is mixed with water to make it easy to eat.  She seemed to like it a lot, and started gaining weight.

And then 2 days ago she no longer wanted to eat. 

I should mention Calliope is 30 years old. 

She has been a wonderful starter horse for David, just the right size and good disposition.  Calliope was a bit difficult to catch, but once she was caught she submitted to bridle and saddle and seemed to enjoy getting out of the pasture and off for a ride.  Sometimes David rode her bareback before getting a saddle, and when he'd fall off she would stop and patiently wait for him to  get back on.

Peter and David checked on her frequently during the day and helped her to drink water from a bucket.   I was very surprised when they came in later morning to report she was once again on her feet.  She hasn't done much all day, but I consider it progress to see that she is getting around and working on eating grass in the pasture. 

I know there will come a day when we will find her gone, and I'll be very sad.  We are just thankful for the days we've had her, and for the wonderful memories she has given us.

4 comments:

grant county nd said...

Our Tom has been gone for four years now and I still miss him so much. Seems like you only get one horse like that in a lifetime!

The K. Family said...

No, the guys didn't think it was our 22 clip. And yes, we do eat bear meat, at least now we do! I was a little skeptical about it, but it was a young, corn eating bear and it tastes just like venison.

Kelle at The Never Done Farm said...

Lynn,
Having a horse is such a blessing and yet it's such a loss when you loose them as well. We're still hurting from the loss of our Fjord gelding. So glad you were able to get her back on her feet again, praying she keeps improving for you.


Our Summer is over and Fall is here. We suffered a light frost, damaging much of the garden, but not a total kill. We're still harvesting raspberries, beans, squash, tomatoes and all of the root crop stuff. Fall garden cleanup is going to be a HUGE undertaking, due to all the weeds, but the garden is being downsized too, because Mike is building a 30'x60'x12 ft shop in the front portion and we'll till up new beds in the Spring to expand back further into the back orchard.

Take care and enjoy the nice weather, soon it will be winter again:o( As I age I dislike winter more and more.
Blessings,
Kelle

Anonymous said...

Maybe she just needs her teeth floated so she can eat - we have a couple older horses who start losing weight and dropping food and need their teeth floated about every 6 months and then they do great (the sharp points on their back teeth cut their mouths and hurt them while they are chewing).
And then they sometimes just get old :( She has been a good horse and such a learning experience!
Heather