12/19/2024
Last week, a good friend of this page, Sylvia Reyes Vigil, asked me if I could post some photos of the late stallion, Tupi. I don't know why I haven't posted any images of Tupi since we lost him early this year. He was always one of my favorite stallions and like his half-brother, Thor, he is terribly missed.
Tupi was born in 2014 to the mare, Taboo, and most likely the band stallion Turbo or Hudson Bay. I'm leaning towards Turbo being his sire, since he was a large horse like Tupi, but I'm just guessing. Thor was already out of the family band when Tupi was born, but the pair interacted occasionally. Although Tupi's father was probably Turbo, Tahlequah took over the band when Tupi was a youngster, acting as the only father he's ever known.
Tupi was emancipated from his family in 2017/2018, but like Thor, he eventually returned to his natal band. Along with Thor, Tupi was a lieutenant in Tahlequah's band and because of his large size, I always felt he was the "muscle" in the family. Tupi seemed to be the first line of defense against all challengers.
I thought I'd start my remembrance of Tupi with this photo from the spring of 2021 showing Tupi (in the middle of the photo) doing what he did best, protecting his family. You can see Thor approaching from the right, but he never engaged Sorcerer in this instance since Tupi, as the enforcer, quickly dispatched him.
Tupi gained his first mare, Totsi, in 2021, after he stole her from Thor. Thor was badly beaten by Tupi when he took Totsi, and in my opinion, Thor was never the same after that. Totsi was also Tupi and Thor's half-sister. In such a close-knit family as theirs, these types of pairings are not uncommon.
Totsi stayed with Tupi until he disappeared from their family band in November of 2023. After his disappearance, we would occasionally see Tupi from a distance. Since Tupi appeared mobile, we thought he was just recuperating from a minor injury. When we finally saw Tupi up close in January of 2024, we saw him dragging his right front leg. We alerted the Wild Horse Specialist and he confirmed Tupi had a broken leg and dislocated soldier and humanely euthanized him.
Since there were no witnesses to Tupi's injury, what happened to him will always remain a mystery. Because Tupi was constantly fighting, we can assume that he was injured during battle, but he could have slipped and fallen, breaking his leg. I've seen that happen in the past and its devastating. It was heartbreaking to lose Tupi and the heartbreak continued as the roundup removed 40 horses and another tragic accident took Thor.
It's hard for me to see any bright side to this story, but if there is one, its that Tupi, like his brother, Thor, went out like a warrior, forever wild as free as it should be ❤
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Rita Deleon and husband Lawrence raise, train, race and market Arabian horses for race, endurance etc
