18/11/2025
Life is just way too short. 💔
A couple of days ago, early in the morning we found Ellie lying in her field, too weak to get up. We immediately called the vet who said she would be there as soon as she could. The night before she ate her meal as usual, licking the bowl clean. During the time it took for the vet to arrive we were able to coax her to her feet several times. It was a struggle and we knew she was suffering. The vet performed her exam and determined it was a probable strangulated lipoma, which often comes on suddenly and without warning in these older ladies. Lying there, she looked into our eyes and we knew she was telling us it was time.
Ellie came to us over 6 months ago, a beautiful… yet broken hearted red mare. She looked like she had given up hope. Given up by her owners in her time of need.
We visited with her in a round pen in the back of a field, surrendered because her care had become “too difficult”. Employed as a riding horse (which she could no longer do) she now had to be fed large amounts of mush, multiple times a day, and required too much care to handle. We observed initially that she could barely put weight on her front leg. She hobbled over to us, as we were informed that she also experienced some pain in her hip. She kept her head held low but she stood there as we spoke to her, soaking in the attention. We honestly did not know what we could do for her (if anything) at a remarkable 35 years old, but we knew we had to try.
From the intake visit, the vet spoke to us about her quality of life and knowing when it was time. Since we take in many hospice animals, this is something we are very well accustomed to.
We dove deep into her care from the beginning -she received weekly massages, red light therapy, wraps for her hooves, and special supplements. Our beloved volunteers even practiced Reiki sessions on her joints. Slowly she improved and while still moving like an older horse would, over time she no longer had intense pain in her joints. Ellie was a fighter.
She developed a close bond with another eqine named Willow (whom she refused from then on to let out of her sight). She was no longer alone, she loved having a companion.
She roamed a large open field and she no longer hobbled there! She galloped to her feed buckets often, grazed on green pastures, enjoyed the autumn breeze and adored being devoted on.
We couldn’t believe the progress she made and she surprised us every day. She had hope and she gave us hope. Each new day with her was a gift as we knew with her age we were on borrowed time.
In our opinion-we were blessed. You see, we were LUCKY enough to have her at the time in her life when all those things mattered. We gave her the love she deserved and that is what she gave us in return-tenfold.
She knew love, true love, from the moment she entered our gates. She had the end of life she always deserved. For the time she was with us, she mattered. 🩷
Rest in peace beautiful girl. 🐴
