Work Horse. RIP Rosie

Start at the end!

This evening around 8:00 pm, Angie called me to come and help outside. Rosie was in trouble in the horse stables. She had purely by chance been outside and heard loud noises coming from the stables. Rosie rolling around in her stall and Angie realised straight away it was a serious case of colic. She managed to get her to stand up and lead her out onto the sand school. Normally getting a horse to walk around can cure the problem but there isn't much you can do when 500kg of horse decides to lie down & roll about trying to unwind the knot in the innards. This though often makes it worse.

She had called our vet practice in 20km distant Memmingen who have a  24hr emergency service. Sadly despite the urgency, he took ages and by the time he arrived, Angie asked him to simply put her down. The agony and pain she was suffering were enormous and an emergency cutting open to get at her innards would not have been possible. Added to this Rosie is the most insensitive horse you could imagine. Great if you wrongly tell her off for something as she forgets it faster than you can apologise but in such a situation, her hooves were flailing around with no regard to anyone around.

It was a horrible, long, excruciatingly painful event to watch as the vet fought to get various needles with the different anaesthetics, morphine & final killer dose into her neck.

I have no pictures of the evening's events, not just because it was so dark but because it was so painful.

RIP Rosalie McGee Quarter Horse born on the shores of the Ammer Lake south of Munich on 9th April 1995 and came to us at 5 months on 9th September 1995. A great girl despite her stubbornness, she was a massive, over-muscled girl, not the easiest to ride but an absolute insurance policy. Nothing frightened her and you could put any novice of any age on her. She didn't get grumpy at being mis-ridden, just kept on going. She had suffered from a disease common in some breeds especially Quarter Horses & Shire Horses which had led to the over muscling. Food-related. Due to that, she had not been ridden much in the last few years.

We will miss her but our now one remaining horse from five we have had over the years, Sultan was to spend most of the night & next day screaming for his mate. In the night & even next day kept taking him to see, smell & touch her. I think he finally did understand.


This was the two of them out for a hack on 2nd April 2017.

Today's photo was taken a bit earlier during the afternoon walk. Appropriate again as it's Tractor Tuesday. A Fendt 312 Vario. In production since 2005 but with different motors. Not sure what year/motor this one is. Fendt which are made locally have had to close production as they have run out of front axles and wheels which are made in Italy where production has stopped.

I made a rather nice video of this ploughing session as the tractor was being followed by a flock of at least 12 red kites that were swooping down on the mice that were being dug up. Quite a sight to see.