A sad day

So we got some sad news today. There's no easy way to say it, either. But we lost a member of the Bluebonnet Family. It is kind of funny. Before I came to Bluebonnet, I wondered if anyone would notice if I died. And now I see how the whole Bluebonnet Family mourns when one of the horses dies. People who have never met the horse mourn. People who don't live in the same city, state or even country mourn. It is pretty awe-inspiring to be part of something so big.

This horse had been in BEHS since 2005. He was one of the first horses to arrive at the rescue. Apparently some people found him starving, bought him and helped him gain weight. Then for some reason they couldn't keep him and asked BEHS to take him. BEHS doesn't have room right now for "donated" horses, but luckily they did at the time. So he moved in with his foster "mom" Joanne. Joanne's been fostering for many years. She reported that Moonshine was pretty withdrawn. He didn't really seem to interact with her, but she worked with him and found out he was broke to ride.

She kept trying to win him over, but he really never was interested in being friends with Joanne. Then he met his girl. She was a little thing and her mom was looking for a small horse or a large pony for her to use in Pony Club. When he saw his girl, he fell in love. He wasn't ever found of humans, but he loved his little girl.

When she started riding him, he took super-careful care of her. He refused to canter until he decided she was steady enough in the saddle. He didn't want her to ever get hurt! She loved him right back, of course. Who wouldn't love someone so devoted to them? And they were an awesome pair.

She renamed him Moonshadow and took him to Pony Club events. There were some pretty big, fancy and expensive horses there. But Moonshadow was a star. Everyone wanted to ride him! He and his little girl were both so proud. And everyone in the Bluebonnet Family was so proud.

But then the tragedy struck. He began stumbling and the vet came out. Moonshadow had EPM. His adopters treated him and his little girl hoped and prayed for his recovery. She got to ride him for a while but then he began stumbling too much. For a couple of years, they treated the EPM. But finally it became too much for him. He got weaker. He lost weight. And his little girl and her mom agreed it was time to let him go.

So they loved him and hugged him and told him how wonderful he was. And then he had a small poke in his neck and got sleepy. He's gone now and everyone is so sad.

This is the first Bluebonnet Brother I've lost. I never met him, but I know we were both part of something huge. It is hard to lose a family member - but I'm so grateful I have this huge family around me. We'll be sad together, but we know he's waiting for us on the other side.

Good bye Moonshadow.




Tex from Bluebonnet