In Loving Memory of Diego

In loving memory of Diego who crossed the Rainbow Bridge one year ago today and the other animals that we have lost. You will live in our hearts forever.

Dreaming of Warmer Days and Green Grass

It is bitterly cold here with an artic blast blowing through right from the North Pole. The high over the next couple of days is about 15 with a low of 0. The horses are snug in the blankets with plenty of hay but I can't help but dream of warmer days and green grass...

May, 2008

Razzle and Diego snack on some spring grass

Razzle now has a wonderful life with my friend Penny and her daughter Meagan

Diego died July 8, 2008. He was 28.

Jet and I share a quiet moment in the hay ring

The Babysitter

I came across this picture the other day and wanted to share. It's one of my favorite pics of T and Diego. I took this about 2 years ago while she was just tooling around in my fleece bareback pad. Diego was an absolute peach with her and just stood still in the sunshine. He was such a good teacher for her. I really miss the old guy.

Drawing of Diego

A pencil drawing of Diego by my mother, Mary McSulla, from a photograph taken in 2001. This is a scanned version of the drawing. The original hangs in my living room.

Snow Pics

Diego in the snow in March

Just a reminder that the heat and humidity doesn't last forever!

My last ride on Diego

June 13, 2008 - Standing in the shade in the ring after a leisurely stroll in the woods.

What Diego taught us

Green Lane Park - September 17, 2007

The Orange Trail as seen through Diego's ears

Where to start...since we had never owned a horse before, he basically taught us everything. Over the years he was a patient soul, a friend, and sometimes a royal pain in the butt but I wouldn't have traded him for the world.

He was Craig's buddy. It was funny to watch him wait for Craig to "tackle football" him. He even reached back one day and grabbed Craig's sleeve and started to walk away. Craig had a special place in his heart for Diego. Diego was the exception to every rule.

For T, he taught her how to be a good horsewoman. I never worried about her with him. He took care of her and let her play with him for hours. She could braid him until her heart's content and groom him forever. He loved it and he loved her. She was 3 1/2 when we got him and really doesn't remember what life was like before him. He taught her how to be a confident rider - whether she was riding double with me on the Blue Trail in Green Lane Park or she was cantering him by herself at Val's Corral. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher.

For me, he taught me how to be a good horsewoman, too - whether he was a willing partner or testing me. We became a team. Riding him was easy for me over the years because we knew each other. He carried me through Evansburg State Park, Valley Forge Park, Green Lane Park, the Perk Trail. We even blazed a few trails of our own at Majestic Acres. The best times were just the two of us on a trail with the wind blowing in the trees. My wish for my birthday last year was to just ride so Craig packed the two of us into the truck and trailer, and Diego and I walked, trotted and cantered the Orange Trail in Green Lane. That was the last real trail ride that we took together. He started to really hate getting onto the trailer and I didn't want to stress him out. Over the years, he stood patiently for me to try new tack, new training methods, foot trimming, you name it, he stood for it. He taught me how to ride, despite the fact that I was terrified some days. We mastered walk, trot, canter, gallop. We jumped cavalettis, jumps, logs, water. Oh yeah, water. He loved water and would spend several minutes in the creek or reservoir stomping in the water and soaking us both. We had 2 big water tubs in the pasture because he would consistently splash all of the water out of one of them. It was pretty funny to watch and he was pretty proud of himself when he was soaking wet.

Diego was the one that you could turn out with a timid horse and not worry about. He was the one that could clear a flock of turkeys from a trail without blinking an eye. He was the one I used to teach other horses how to free lunge. He was my "Steady Eddy". He was an awesome trail horse and being in the woods was definitely his favorite place. He would start to get grumpy in the ring and after a trail ride in the woods, he would be a different horse.

He is irreplaceable and will be missed every day of my life.

Diego is gone

Bombproof - February 2008

The Ultimate Babysitter

Diego started to display signs of colic yesterday. He walked up to Craig and laid down, basically asking for help. Diego never laid down in front of people. I had owned him for 8 1/2 years and only seen him lay down twice in all that time. After talking with the vet, we gave him a shot of Banamine to ease his pain. The vet came out to check on him and did a fecal exam. He felt a blockage about the size of a small football which could have been poop or a tumor. He tubed him and gave him about 2 1/2 gallons of water plus about a 1/2 gallon of mineral oil. Diego got another shot of Banamine at 8:30 PM last night. He was showing signs of pain and was agitated. He stayed in the ring overnight and I stayed with him. What little sleep I got was in the car. He had a fairly quiet night and because he hadn't pooped overnight, I gave him another shot of Banamine this morning at 5:30 AM. We brought Razzle up to keep him company and the two of them hung out until around lunch time. Diego started to show signs of agitation as the Banamine wore off so he got another shot at 12:30 PM. He kept looking at me like he wanted help. Dr. Seybolt got to the farm around 3:30 PM. The blockage was still there and the prognosis was not good. We decided at that point that it would be painful for him to continue and he was euthanized. He went quick and painless and I was able to stay with him so he knew that somebody loved him to the end. He was my first horse and taught me how to ride. He taught T how to be around horses and how to be a good horsewoman. She doesn't remember life without him. He will sorely be missed forever. He was such a personality and such a good buddy. Diego was about 28 years old.

May 10, 2008 after a good roll in the mud

August 2005

May 2002 with T

2001 at Skyline Stables where I bought him

Craig rode Diego!

Craig decided to get up on Diego yesterday! We've got the pics to prove it!! Diego behaved like a perfect gentleman. We have a saddle that fits so maybe he will ride more often. Diego would certainly love the attention.

The big boys playing

We had the 3 big horses in the ring running around and playing on Saturday. Jet was in a playful mood and took turns annoying Razzle & Diego.

Annoying Razzle - notice the foot poised

One of Jet's favorite games is to pull Razzle's tail and run away.

Diego's turn

Pulling Diego's tail

Giraffe Impersonation

Playing with Diego

Spring Vet Visit

Dr. Seybolt came out yesterday to pull bloodwork for Coggins and to give spring shots. This is the first year that we will hopefully be showing 4H so we need to have the Rabies certification. We figured since Dr. Seybolt was there anyway that we would just have him administer the shots.

I had him take a look at Diego to see if he could give us a better guess as to his age. Dr. Seybolt thinks he is between 25 and 30, probably around 28. When I bought him, I was told that he was 10. He was actually probably around 20 then. Diego is in good health, eating well and has a good coat. We need to decide how much riding we will be doing with him. It's good for him physically and he seems to really enjoy it. Trailering seems to really stress him out so he may just stay local.

Dr. Seybolt determined Jet's age to be 15 which is right about what we thought. He is over at the knee in front but is sound so Dr. Seybolt told us not to change what we are doing with him. He is barefoot (I trim him) and should stay that way. His legs may straighten out a bit in time. He definitely thinks that Jet is a Standardbred.

Raider and Pumpkin are doing well. Both of them behaved themselves (Pumpkin more than Raider) and didn't need to be twitched this time which was good. Pumpkin was his usual sweet inquisitive self. Raider had his usual 'tude.

The vet complimented us on what nice horses that we have. It's always gratifying to hear that we are giving them the right care. I really enjoy the heck out of the horses that we have right now.

Early Spring Update

Pumpkin has lost his 2 front teeth!! I will try to get pictures since he looks so cute. He shed one cap on Saturday and the other was gone by Sunday. My poor toothless little guy. It doesn't seem to be affecting him much other than it must feel strange on his tongue. T and I have been working with him on his leadline skills. He tends to wander off and lead you the way a dog would so he is learning to lead where his handler goes.

Raider is his usual self - sometimes very sweet and sometimes very grumpy. I have been making a conscious effort to judge his mood and treat him accordingly - if he's grumpy, I need to be able to at least pet his face and if he's sweet, I spend lots of time just hanging with him. He gets plenty of exercise and plays quite a bit so I think it's just part of his personality.

Jet has become much friendlier and is a complete food grub. He will come across the pasture on the off chance that you might have a treat. He is fun to ride and is learning to relax when going any faster than a walk. We really like him and have decided that he's definitely a keeper.

Diego is shedding like crazy. Spring is definitely on its way! He's got a bit of a sore back. I'm not sure what he did to himself but he is definitely not his usual self. He will play with Jet but doesn't want to run around at all which is not the norm. T tacked him up to ride him yesterday and he took off at a canter and then started to buck. This horse absolutely does not buck so we knew something was up. Sure enough, once the saddle was off, we found a sore spot right in the middle of his back. I don't feel any swelling so I think maybe he just pulled something. Time off should definitely help and we'll keep an eye on him to make sure that he gets better.

Spring?!?

I was scratching Diego today while he was standing around and noticed that he had a few hairs coming off. Could it be - could he be starting to shed?!? For me, that is the first true sign of spring. The forecast calls for snow flurries but the horses are starting to shed! The groundhog said 6 more weeks of winter but who believes him anyway? The weather this season has been very strange. 19 degrees with a 30 mph wind one week and 60 degrees and rain the next. Jet has had his blanket on more than off since he can't take getting wet. Good old Diego is impervious to the weather. Nothing seems to bother him. I'm so excited that the hair is starting to come off!! I'll have to remember to fill the suet feeders with horse hair for the birds. It's pretty cool to find a nest after the babies have left that is made out of hay, horse hair and baling twine.

Peaceful

This weekend, I went to feed the horses in the morning by myself. I needed to do some routine clean up (manure is never in short supply!) so I decided to take advantage of the quiet. It was about 25 degrees, the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds, and I took a minute to just be. The air had the particular stillness that only comes from a cold clear winter day. There were birds singing in the trees accompanying the quiet munching of Diego and Jet by the hay rack. I realized then how peaceful it all was and I was reminded how much I really love having these critters. There was no where else that I wanted to be at the particular moment in time. Later, I spent time sitting in the hay with Pumpkin while he was laying down with his feet tucked up under him, enjoying the sun and his hay while Raider stood guard. I consider myself lucky that I have all of this in my life.