After a long struggle to save her we had Jezebel euthanised earlier today.She was the most badly named horse ever, as she was the easiest of horses in every way.
Phil picked her out as a foal and she became his best friend. if she saw a person enter the field, she left the herd to say hello; she became very useful as a helper round the yard as you could sling six filled haynets over her back and she would happily carry them round to each stable with out any headcollar or rope, she just wanted to be with you.
When it came to breaking her my daughter popped on her and she cantered round the arena later that day, she was the same hacking out, nothing scared her and she was so talented to ride.
the day she injured her hock she had been due to start her XC training, up to then she had jumped our Sj at reasonable height and my daughter asked her Dad if he would lend her to her to event, as she was so easy.
It's hard to say how much we will miss her, when you own lots of horses you tend to only get emotionally involved with a few, as you know the rest get sold. jez would have been here for life; after competing she would have retired as a brood mare.
The injury was a tiny puncture hole and a couple of scrapes inside her hock. It had been done a day at least before but because of it's situation had been missed when she was checked.
We started her on antibiotics immediately but within two days she ended up at an equine clinic where she had two operations to flush and clean the joint as the infection had tracked through into the joint capsule. Such an innocent looking half inch cut eventually ended her life, so don't ignore any type of would near a joint at your peril.
She came home after treatment and box rested, she was sound/lame/sound lame then yesterday went very lame and fluid started appearing on the dressing.
This morning we discussed it with the vet, another op (we have already spent almost £6000) was too much trauma to put her through, and opening the joint and flushing through would have been a real gamble plus even more pain for her.
I had a dream last night that Julie Dicker the horse healer told me it was time to put her out of her pain, and so we had her peacefullky put to sleep by the vet she knew in the paddock a couple of yards from her stable.
She was sedated and then a massive dose of anaesthetic injected into the vein, and she crumpled quietly down on her side and died.
Our vet was obviously upset, we are lucky in that we couldn't ask for better, both vets and the equine clinic treated her so well.
She was such a huge personality I know it will take ages to get over this.
My poor husband is distraught, he's never had a horse like her, and although we have full siblings in the field, I reckon she chose him for her owner, so none of the others can compensate.
Thanks to all the kind people who enquired about her and sent good wishes, sadly this time there was no happy ending...
