S
StarRidgeAcres
Guest
Due to his age I knew this was inevitable, but I still wasn't prepared. I came home this evening to find that Wiz had passed sometime during the day.
I found him in the barn with several of "his" mares around him, sniffing him. I knew he was gone the moment I saw him and how the mares were acting. There were no obvious signs as to what took him; no wounds, no signs of any stress or struggling. The vet came even though I knew Wiz was gone and even though the vet was already home for the day and had started his dinner. There was nothing that could be done for him.
For those that may be new to the forum or may have forgotten his story, Wiz was one of the "Kansas" minis found starving in October of 2007. Old threads can be found by searching "Trembley" "Kasnas minis" etc. He was rescued by fellow forum member, Donna (AppyLover2) and was taken to her home to live. Unfortunately, Donna was misinformed as to his age and status. The coggins she was given listed him as a gelding and 17 years of age. Donna tried very hard to work with him, provide him quality feed and hay, and to teach him people weren't all bad. But as Wiz got more feed into him, he gained strength and she soon learned he wasn't very easy to handle. She tried and tried, but he was just too much; he didn't play nice with her other geldings and he had obviously never been halter trained or handled. He was so used to pushing himself around to get what little food and water was available at his Kansas home that that bad behavior was all he knew.
After a bit, Donna realized, understandably so, that maybe Wiz was more than her place was setup to handle. My ex drove to Donna's place and picked Wiz up so we could see if we could work with him. The goal, before meeting Wiz, was to have him maybe trained to drive eventually so that he could find a good home as someone's pet and could have a job. Well, Wiz WAS in fact a real handful! Pushy, no sense of his personal space or ours, no manners, no concept of now it's time to work and listen, etc. But the biggest surprise was Wiz was a STALLION! So, now we had that to deal with first! He was gelded in Dec of 2007. That helped a lot. My vet also estimated he was "close to 30."
As the months went by Wiz slowly gained weight and learned how to lead, take wormer and not walk all over his people. He never really lost all of his stallion tendencies, but he certainly became easier to deal with and wasn't as dangerous as he was when Donna had him. As the years passed, he looked better and better and although he was never the kind of horse you'd let a child handle, he was still a pleasure to have around. Honestly, one of the prettiest horses I've ever laid eyes on. Just a natural beauty and most definately ahead of his time. When I think of how much work and thought most of us put into breeding; trying so hard to pick the right cross and then hope for the best end result and then I looked at Wiz who was so naturally beautiful, gorgeous head with a wide eye and tiny muzzle, strong jaw, tight and tippy ears, level topline and straight legs! And he was probably born of some mare and stallion that were pastured together, along with other mares and stallions, with no thought given to this foal. He probably never benefitted from regular hoof care or good nutrition. But he was a stunner even in old age.
I can't count how many times I looked at him and said "I wish I could replicate that gorgeous head." I called him Pretty Wiz. Not very manly, but accurate.
Wiz seemed to still be enjoying life as of this morning. He called to me just like he did at every feeding and came running when I yelled "come on" to the herd for breakfast. He always talked to me like I was one of his mares.
He loved carrots, apples, frosted wheat cereal and nicker makers. Although he had his moments...like when it was time to do his feet...mostly he was a real pleasure and never caused trouble. Ever since Merlin, and then Spirit left the farm, Wiz has been the main "stallion" (at least in his own mind) and he had really relaxed and put on more weight and just seemed to be happy with his lot.
Godspeed pretty Wiz; I will always remember you "talking" to me at meal time, encouraging me to hurry up and get your grub ready, and how truly beautiful you were when your mane flowed as you ran across the pasture to meet me.
Wiz when he arrived at our farm:
Wiz in Dec 2008:
A picture of Wiz from early winter 2010:
The last photo is one of my favorites. He was happy being the "stallion" of his harem and it shows that beautiful head and eye. Kind of like the perfect child's toy horse would look.
Good bye my one-of-a-kind friend.
Thank you for taking the time to read about him. I've had a lot of horses during my life, but he was special in a way I can't quite put my finger on. In my vet's opinion Wiz was about 32 years old.
I found him in the barn with several of "his" mares around him, sniffing him. I knew he was gone the moment I saw him and how the mares were acting. There were no obvious signs as to what took him; no wounds, no signs of any stress or struggling. The vet came even though I knew Wiz was gone and even though the vet was already home for the day and had started his dinner. There was nothing that could be done for him.
For those that may be new to the forum or may have forgotten his story, Wiz was one of the "Kansas" minis found starving in October of 2007. Old threads can be found by searching "Trembley" "Kasnas minis" etc. He was rescued by fellow forum member, Donna (AppyLover2) and was taken to her home to live. Unfortunately, Donna was misinformed as to his age and status. The coggins she was given listed him as a gelding and 17 years of age. Donna tried very hard to work with him, provide him quality feed and hay, and to teach him people weren't all bad. But as Wiz got more feed into him, he gained strength and she soon learned he wasn't very easy to handle. She tried and tried, but he was just too much; he didn't play nice with her other geldings and he had obviously never been halter trained or handled. He was so used to pushing himself around to get what little food and water was available at his Kansas home that that bad behavior was all he knew.
After a bit, Donna realized, understandably so, that maybe Wiz was more than her place was setup to handle. My ex drove to Donna's place and picked Wiz up so we could see if we could work with him. The goal, before meeting Wiz, was to have him maybe trained to drive eventually so that he could find a good home as someone's pet and could have a job. Well, Wiz WAS in fact a real handful! Pushy, no sense of his personal space or ours, no manners, no concept of now it's time to work and listen, etc. But the biggest surprise was Wiz was a STALLION! So, now we had that to deal with first! He was gelded in Dec of 2007. That helped a lot. My vet also estimated he was "close to 30."
As the months went by Wiz slowly gained weight and learned how to lead, take wormer and not walk all over his people. He never really lost all of his stallion tendencies, but he certainly became easier to deal with and wasn't as dangerous as he was when Donna had him. As the years passed, he looked better and better and although he was never the kind of horse you'd let a child handle, he was still a pleasure to have around. Honestly, one of the prettiest horses I've ever laid eyes on. Just a natural beauty and most definately ahead of his time. When I think of how much work and thought most of us put into breeding; trying so hard to pick the right cross and then hope for the best end result and then I looked at Wiz who was so naturally beautiful, gorgeous head with a wide eye and tiny muzzle, strong jaw, tight and tippy ears, level topline and straight legs! And he was probably born of some mare and stallion that were pastured together, along with other mares and stallions, with no thought given to this foal. He probably never benefitted from regular hoof care or good nutrition. But he was a stunner even in old age.
Wiz seemed to still be enjoying life as of this morning. He called to me just like he did at every feeding and came running when I yelled "come on" to the herd for breakfast. He always talked to me like I was one of his mares.
Godspeed pretty Wiz; I will always remember you "talking" to me at meal time, encouraging me to hurry up and get your grub ready, and how truly beautiful you were when your mane flowed as you ran across the pasture to meet me.
Wiz when he arrived at our farm:
Wiz in Dec 2008:
A picture of Wiz from early winter 2010:
The last photo is one of my favorites. He was happy being the "stallion" of his harem and it shows that beautiful head and eye. Kind of like the perfect child's toy horse would look.
Good bye my one-of-a-kind friend.
Thank you for taking the time to read about him. I've had a lot of horses during my life, but he was special in a way I can't quite put my finger on. In my vet's opinion Wiz was about 32 years old.
