susanne
dB
.
Our sweet Thelonius died today.
The rawness of this statement matches what I am feeling in my heart. We lost such a huge part of our life, I don't know if any of us will fully recover.
And yet, I believe our grief is small in comparison to that of Mingus: he has lost the best, most loyal friend anyone could ever have.
Thelonius' early years and his last few hours were hard, but what was in between was golden. As a colt, he became a procedures horse for a veterinary school surgery program. As such, he underwent a tracheotomy, a liver biopsy, and an abdomenal scope. If ever a horse had a right to hate humans, it was Thelonius, but he loved people and seemed to find the direct route to their souls.
He first came into our lives thanks to LB member, jayne. At that time, Keith and I had a single mini -- Mingus -- and jayne adked if Mingus would like a friend. Her herd refused to accept the llittle roan she had brought home, leaving him odd man out. Mingus did indeed need a buddy, so we drove to the Oregon coast and brought him home in our mini van. Jayne called him Pokey, but our animals were all named after jazz musicians, and quiry, little gelding was named after the quirky, artistic genius, Thelonius Monk.
Looking back, we were lucky that our young stallion was so willing to share his home and his people with this cabbage patch doll of a horse, but they seemed to have met in a previous life. They had each other at hello. The day after he arrived, we decided to go for our walk through our city neighborhood and up the summit of Mt. Tabor Park. Since Thelonius was new to pavement and sidewalks, (that's my story and we're sticking to it!) we decided to rest while Keith and Mingus hiked to the top. Thelonius nibbled on the grass and we relaxed in the shade until we heard distant hoofbeats on the trail above. Thelonius cut loose with a high, slightly hoarse whinny, which was instantly echoed by Mingus' big boy call. This continued back and forth as I heard the footsteps and whinnies getting louder and nearer. Thelonius and Mingus were overjoyed to see each other, and from then on they were inseparable.
Throughout their friendship, Thelonius admired...even worshipped Mingus. Mingus loved his buddy but often seemed to take him for granted. Mingus was the etotist, proud and bold, while Thelonius was quiet and meek, willing to watch the world from behind his hero. Mingus often went places with us while Thelonius stayed home with the others. We occasionally joked that Mingus got more out of the friendship, but not everything is so readily apparent.
As city horses, Mingus and Thelonius made many excursions onto the streets of Portland, generally filled with neighbors and passers-by, almost all of whom were enthralled by the idea of city horses. Neighbors filled us in on the views from their windows -- ponies enjoying their morning romps, rearing, kicking, running and just having a ball. Our property cut across a city block, so our back lane became a popular route for joggers, carpools, kids, moms with strollers, and more. One evening I went out to find a large group standing at our back gate, admiring our "kids."
"We think they're an asset to the neighborhood!," one woman called. Funny...they never said that about us...
One late summer day we learned that our neighborhood was holding a parade, and that all were welcome. We whipped out the brushes and polished the ponies, then ran to the staging area. The parade was a bit haphazard, as many neighbhood parades are, people with children on bikes, firetrucks, and politicians, and watched from nursing homes and front porches. At the parade's end was a picnic, with hotdogs, ice cream and a sea of screaming children. Add to that two small horses, and you have a match made in heaven. The hordes descended -- children as far as the eye could see. Both Mingus and Thelonius have always loved children and didn't bat an eye, but after awhile, Thelonius began pulling me off in a different direction. I thought perhaps he had had too much and decided to follow him.
He pulled me through the crowd until he came to a quadraplegic woman in a wheelchair, where he lay his head on her lap.
In my life filled with animals of all shapes and sizes, this is the single most extraordinary thing I have ever witnessed.
As is so often true of mini owners, we were drawn to more, which led us to trade our city lot for four acres in the sticks. More land, longer hikes, and more horses. Thelonius loved his new friends -- first Flash and then Scarlet -- but he remained devoted to his buddy, Mingus. If we returned with Mingus from a show or drive, we'd roll down the van windows to hear Thelonius call -- it was the only time he ever talked.
Our animals are our family, filled with all of life's joys and sorrows. Of all of our animals, Thelonius was the most attuned to our highs and lows. He was actually the most "horsey" of our horses, and yet if we came to the fence while he was eating, he never hesitated to come over for a scratch.
In his last two days, Thelonius, who usually stayed home, had to leave our faux-farm twice for vet visit. This time he called to his buddy from the van, as Mingus, Scarlet and Flash welcomed him home. On his last homecoming, he hobbled down the ramp from the van and walked unsteadily to the corral gate where Mingus waited. There they stood, muzzles touching, saying all that needed to be said. Ten minutes laters, Thelonius died.
The vet who was on her way (we won't discuss the first vet) came despite our call telling her he had already died. I mentioned Thelonius' history as a procedures horse and Marie's (Shortpig's) question if the colic were perhaps related to that. She felt it was quite likely he had suffered a blockage due to an adhesion from the liver biopsy.
After he died, we let each of the horses say their goodbyes. If anyone ever doubts that animals mourn, they need only have seen Mingus today. Every fiber of his body radiated sorrow. Thelonius may have been the quiet one, but still waters run deep. For the rest of my life, I'll have my ultimate example of friendship and loyalty. It came in a little pink horse...my sweet Thelonius.
[i've added photos on post #67]
Our sweet Thelonius died today.
The rawness of this statement matches what I am feeling in my heart. We lost such a huge part of our life, I don't know if any of us will fully recover.
And yet, I believe our grief is small in comparison to that of Mingus: he has lost the best, most loyal friend anyone could ever have.
Thelonius' early years and his last few hours were hard, but what was in between was golden. As a colt, he became a procedures horse for a veterinary school surgery program. As such, he underwent a tracheotomy, a liver biopsy, and an abdomenal scope. If ever a horse had a right to hate humans, it was Thelonius, but he loved people and seemed to find the direct route to their souls.
He first came into our lives thanks to LB member, jayne. At that time, Keith and I had a single mini -- Mingus -- and jayne adked if Mingus would like a friend. Her herd refused to accept the llittle roan she had brought home, leaving him odd man out. Mingus did indeed need a buddy, so we drove to the Oregon coast and brought him home in our mini van. Jayne called him Pokey, but our animals were all named after jazz musicians, and quiry, little gelding was named after the quirky, artistic genius, Thelonius Monk.
Looking back, we were lucky that our young stallion was so willing to share his home and his people with this cabbage patch doll of a horse, but they seemed to have met in a previous life. They had each other at hello. The day after he arrived, we decided to go for our walk through our city neighborhood and up the summit of Mt. Tabor Park. Since Thelonius was new to pavement and sidewalks, (that's my story and we're sticking to it!) we decided to rest while Keith and Mingus hiked to the top. Thelonius nibbled on the grass and we relaxed in the shade until we heard distant hoofbeats on the trail above. Thelonius cut loose with a high, slightly hoarse whinny, which was instantly echoed by Mingus' big boy call. This continued back and forth as I heard the footsteps and whinnies getting louder and nearer. Thelonius and Mingus were overjoyed to see each other, and from then on they were inseparable.
Throughout their friendship, Thelonius admired...even worshipped Mingus. Mingus loved his buddy but often seemed to take him for granted. Mingus was the etotist, proud and bold, while Thelonius was quiet and meek, willing to watch the world from behind his hero. Mingus often went places with us while Thelonius stayed home with the others. We occasionally joked that Mingus got more out of the friendship, but not everything is so readily apparent.
As city horses, Mingus and Thelonius made many excursions onto the streets of Portland, generally filled with neighbors and passers-by, almost all of whom were enthralled by the idea of city horses. Neighbors filled us in on the views from their windows -- ponies enjoying their morning romps, rearing, kicking, running and just having a ball. Our property cut across a city block, so our back lane became a popular route for joggers, carpools, kids, moms with strollers, and more. One evening I went out to find a large group standing at our back gate, admiring our "kids."
"We think they're an asset to the neighborhood!," one woman called. Funny...they never said that about us...
One late summer day we learned that our neighborhood was holding a parade, and that all were welcome. We whipped out the brushes and polished the ponies, then ran to the staging area. The parade was a bit haphazard, as many neighbhood parades are, people with children on bikes, firetrucks, and politicians, and watched from nursing homes and front porches. At the parade's end was a picnic, with hotdogs, ice cream and a sea of screaming children. Add to that two small horses, and you have a match made in heaven. The hordes descended -- children as far as the eye could see. Both Mingus and Thelonius have always loved children and didn't bat an eye, but after awhile, Thelonius began pulling me off in a different direction. I thought perhaps he had had too much and decided to follow him.
He pulled me through the crowd until he came to a quadraplegic woman in a wheelchair, where he lay his head on her lap.
In my life filled with animals of all shapes and sizes, this is the single most extraordinary thing I have ever witnessed.
As is so often true of mini owners, we were drawn to more, which led us to trade our city lot for four acres in the sticks. More land, longer hikes, and more horses. Thelonius loved his new friends -- first Flash and then Scarlet -- but he remained devoted to his buddy, Mingus. If we returned with Mingus from a show or drive, we'd roll down the van windows to hear Thelonius call -- it was the only time he ever talked.
Our animals are our family, filled with all of life's joys and sorrows. Of all of our animals, Thelonius was the most attuned to our highs and lows. He was actually the most "horsey" of our horses, and yet if we came to the fence while he was eating, he never hesitated to come over for a scratch.
In his last two days, Thelonius, who usually stayed home, had to leave our faux-farm twice for vet visit. This time he called to his buddy from the van, as Mingus, Scarlet and Flash welcomed him home. On his last homecoming, he hobbled down the ramp from the van and walked unsteadily to the corral gate where Mingus waited. There they stood, muzzles touching, saying all that needed to be said. Ten minutes laters, Thelonius died.
The vet who was on her way (we won't discuss the first vet) came despite our call telling her he had already died. I mentioned Thelonius' history as a procedures horse and Marie's (Shortpig's) question if the colic were perhaps related to that. She felt it was quite likely he had suffered a blockage due to an adhesion from the liver biopsy.
After he died, we let each of the horses say their goodbyes. If anyone ever doubts that animals mourn, they need only have seen Mingus today. Every fiber of his body radiated sorrow. Thelonius may have been the quiet one, but still waters run deep. For the rest of my life, I'll have my ultimate example of friendship and loyalty. It came in a little pink horse...my sweet Thelonius.
[i've added photos on post #67]
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