Funny thing is, it's not the first time we've had to put down a good horse. Heck, over the last few decades, we've had somewhere around a hundred horses, something like 40 at once for a time. And while it's never easy, an old horse, or one that severely injured or in pain, is just a lot easier to deal with.
Phillip was such a nice little colt, even up until the end. He couldn't really stand or walk, but was alert, paying attention to everything and would even eat hay and drink water if you brought it to him. I suppose that was a lot better for him, the fact that he wasn't unduly stressed or in pain, but it made it all that much harder for us, knowing he couldn't live that way. I mean, we knew. We didn't really even need to call the vet out, but you just want to hang onto that glimmer of hope. Maybe, perhaps, there's some easy fix that you overlooked.
Sometimes, I think animals have it easier than us. His mom called for him most of that night, but by morning, was back to normal, seemingly not missing him a bit. I suppose that's a better way to be as a herd animal. We're still missing the little guy, aw heck, I'm actually crying as I write this.
Guess I'm just a big softy.Ah well... Life goes on...
*gives CJ a virtual arm around his shoulders*