Polara

For anyone who doesn't know...I have 2 beautiful Percheron horses. My fav. Polara has had some issues since last March that we have spent thousands on Ferrier appt. every 5 weeks, vet bills, pain med. and supplies to pack his foot....( he has a dropped sole) My husband and I would spend about anything to try to save him, if we knew there was ANY hope.

Well 2 weeks ago I got the disturbing news from my vet that he has an infection in his bone at his hoof. (because it was oozing puss) He is barely walking...this is so sad to watch when you know how happy he used to be! We have increased his pain med. but the vet said that he will only get worse from here. I had an appt. to "put him down" last week. I told GOD to give me a sign that I was making the right decision...the next day...he was up walking and even giving a playful kick every now and then. So I cancelled the appt....(I really wanted to anyways, this just gave me an excuse)

Once again, he's not walking. I talked to him and I told him that I tried for a year to do everything I could to get him better...it was all up to him to get better and he didn't. I wasn't willing to give up, but some days Polara would look at me like "Why are you doing this to me! Just let me go!" I told Polara that he will be happy next week and he will feel no pain any more. I made the appt. to have him "put down" and I intend to keep it. No more talking to GOD for a sign! This is it. I told Polara that he will have it a lot better than other horses have it...even cattle. I said he will just go to sleep....no pain....no fear....just a peaceful sleep.

Polara doesn't say much, he is a great listener though. Of course, he will be made into dog food which I hate the idea of that (cuz I have dogs) But what else do you do with a 2,000 lb horse!

Polara is a great horse, everyone who is afraid of horses or had a bad experience with horses, totally change their opinion of horses after him. He has had babies on his back. When my daughter was 2, she snuck out of the house to ride him and he watched her as if not to hurt her while she was running around his feet. Kids were always running around his feet, he was like a big baby sitter. He never kicked or bucked no matter what the kids were doing on his back. He was litterly "BOMB PROOF" But when it came time to get his feet trimmed...he was a different horse! He would test the Ferrier (which is why we went threw 7 in one year....till we found someone who could handle him) He would get really big eyes and start to blow and you knew a temper tantrum was about to happen. But our Ferrier was awesome...he didn't let it scare him.

Polara ruled the pasture too. When my other horse would start to act-up Polara would give him a little nip and he would stop his shit. Not to mention they look so beautiful in the pasture together. Like 2 big unicorns.

Even though it is "the best thing to do" It doesn't feel right and I am not happy about it, but I know this is the way it is. What hurts even more than loosing him is to see him in constant pain that even the med. can't help. I have come to terms with "putting him down" and I am at peace knowing that he will have no more pain. It doesn't make me cry anymore...I am OK with it.

Michelle Johnson