Saying Goodbye to a Good Old Friend

We have had to make a hard Choice this week. We have had to decided what would be the best thing to do for our old and trusted horse SHOOTER. He has been a family friend for a long time. We got him at a time of another loss. Our mare BABE had gotten really sick with sand colic. (that is where a horse will eat rocks and sand, either by accident while they eat or just because they like to eat rocks) Babe had eaten so many tiny rocks that they had filled her stomach and had impacted in her intestines. Anyway dad took her down to Logandale in the middle of the night to see if there was anything they could do, but it was too bad and we had to put her down. Babe had sort of been Allison's "go to" horse so we were now one horse short. We put the word out around Alamo and a good friend, Andy Bailey, called and said that he was looking to sell his rope horse so that he could get a new one. We jumped on the opportunity and a beautiful palomino gelding came to live at our house. Alli fell in love with him as did all of us. He was so dependable that we parent never had to worry about our kids when they were on him. We knew that he would get them safely to the corral at the end of the day. He has been the first horse and only horse allot of our grandchildren have ridden, so there are enough pictures of the old guy around that I know we will never forget him. Anyway, over the past few years he has really gone down hill. He was 28 years old . This past winter was tough on him, we kept him in the barn as much as possible and he never lost his appetite, but he wasn't using anything he ate. Over the last couple of weeks he had started dragging his feet when he walked and he had lost ALLOT of weight, becoming just skin and bones. We couldn't stand to watch him suffer so we made the CHOICE to give him a dignified way out. Dad took him out to to Meghan and Cassidy's this past weekend so that he could be buried out on the range. It was hard and I will miss him but it was an easier choice that to come home and find him gone. The one thing I do know, is that Grandpa Jim and Grandpa Dodge just got one heck of a horse to ride.