All Our Best Friends Are Horses

All our best friends are horses, and stories come to life from the creativity of your mind. Well this is my story.

Rowdy was my one and only love, he was a gift to me from my grandpa. Rowdy was a sorrel quarter horse gelding, and he was the best horse I ever had. He and I would go on long trail rides, just sit in the pasture and talk. Well I'd talk, he'd eat. He truly loved me, and I loved him back. He loved the women too, though he was a gelding I wasn't his only girlfriend. Every new girl that came to our ranch was his. And only his. And then they'd leave and he'd go back to his old girlfriends.

I suppose Rowdy was adorable as a foal because he was cute as a button grown up. By grown up he was was three years old. But he acted like an old man. I put ten year old kids on him and he'd go wherever, whenever. But not all our times were happy. There was one time, just one, and sadly it was our last.

It was a hot summer day, my mother and I were working on repairing and replacing all the gates on our property. They were outdated and really sharp in some places, not safe for horses. We got every gate replaced except one, we had the gate and were going to put it on the very next day. I went out to feed that night, and mom came out later to do something. I really can't remember. It was so long ago. Anyway, I went out to our new side of the barn where our horses were under the eve waiting to be fed.

I threw some hay out into the pasture first. Because the two horses out there MUST be fed first, or they're just not happy. After feeding them I went back for hay, to give to Rowdy and his paddock partner. When I returned Rowdy had gone over to the gate and pawed it, his foot had gotten stuck. I rushed over and loosened his hoof from the gate. He limped off and I yelled for mom. When he got up to the eave I noticed the gash. Blood was pooling from the wound, and I yelled at Mom even louder. We haltered Rowdy and got his leg bandaged. It was a pretty deep cut, and it had to be cleaned and treated every day. Four months went by with no problems, until proud flesh came. "Proud flesh" are loose cells which huddle together in the wound. They can cause infection and ruin a good healing. They can also leave a rise, and cause the wound to stay open. Which is not good.

So we treated for that as well. It seemed to be getting better. Well, July came by and I was getting pretty interested in OHSET team. Oregon High School Equestrian Team. Mom and I had planned a Beach outing that week. So the night before our outing we went out to feed. Rowdy and Roxy came a rumbling and tumbling for food. Rowdy, I noticed, was really loose. His droppings I mean. That's not normal for horses, unless their stressed. So we paid some concern and decided to keep him up and check on him that night. So I did the nightly check and everything seemed to be fine. Morning came and Rowdy was displaying signs of colic. The next six hours would be my own personal hell.

Colic is when a horses intestines retract and stiffen. It causes them pain and it can cause them to roll. They roll to releive the pain, but all they end up doing is hurting themselves more. In the end if you let them roll, they'll die of a twisted intestine. Which is always fatal.

First we did what you're supposed to do, we gave him Bandamine for Colic. Spent a couple hours walking him and by afternoon he seemed better. He was going to the bathroom and drinking water. So we turned him out for a bit so he could run and buck and kick up his heels. I thought he had just had gas pains, and Gas pains can look like colic.

I had my dad drive me down to talk with the OHSET coach about signing up and getting into OHSET. She gave me the details and we headed home. When I arrived Rowdy seemed perfectly fine he drank some water and was eating, normal signs for horses. So I relaxed a bit, maybe thirty minutes. When I looked outside Rowdy was rolling, typical for a horse. But what's not typical is to roll three times in a row, which is what he did. I ran out on the second roll and arrived just as he went down on the third. I haltered him and brought him up to the paddock. He was dizzy and sortiv woozy, Mom and I did everything humanely possible to call a vet, any vet. But we couldn't get ahold of one. It was Sunday and I guess Sunday is the only day Vet's aren't on call. And some vets won't come out and treat your horse if you're not registered with them.

Do you know how hypocritic that is? That you have to have your name on their list in order for a vet to come out? I cried the whole time. I was mad, and upset because not one vet would even PICK UP his phone.

Well Mom, Dad and I worked so hard trying to get Rowdy better. Mom finally told me to walk him while she went over to our next door neighbors to get their vet's number. I took Rowdy in the Paddock and began walking him around, Dad was offering him water but he wouldn't take it. He began tripping and falling. I finally took him into the stall afraid that if he did go down, he would go down on the gravel. Rowdy finally collasped, but he almost collasped on top of me. Just as his body was about to hit the wall, I called out his name.
"Rowdy!"

He flipped and fell the other way. He went tumbling around the stall pounding into the water bucket, the stall wall and finally busted through the other side. I was bursting into tears, he heard me, in the hurtful, sorry state he was in he heard me. I ran to get our next door neighbor to help. He was good with horses as well and strong and we would need some help getting Rowdy out of the stall wall.


I ran across the street for dear life, my chest was burning, tears were streaming down my cheeks. By the time I reached the house I could barely breathe. I knocked on the door hard at first, then harder when Ben opened the door I was breathless. I told him quickly about what had happened, and he ran off on his way. His daughter came out and embraced me for a moment.

I was so shook up, part of me didn't want to go back, and the other part knew I couldn't leave Rowdy. Not now. So the neighbors Daughter, me and Mom hopped in the car and drove back home. When we got there Ben looked at me with a look I will never forget, it was a "He's not going to make it" look. Rowdy was dying, right there, before me. My best friend. I was sobbing I went to his side and put my hand on his neck, he was almost cold. Ben checked his gums, I could see they were turning gray. He wasn't breathing well, and he was huffing. I looked down into his soft brown eye and cried. He blinked, and looked directly at me, he gave me one final weak nicker before he finally passed away. I saw him take his final breath, I backed away shocked and terrified. I felt the whole world crashing down on me, I felt like I was going to be sick. I was crying and sick. I had lost my best friend.

My dad had someone come out to dig a hole for Rowdy, he's buried in our pasture now. And I go and visit him often. And sometimes, I'll see him in our pasture running and playing. And I think, He's in a good place.

Several Months later we were blessed with Lexi. Lexi is a Paint Horse mare. And though she's not Rowdy, she sure acts like him. She's nice like he was, and kind too. And she's my best friend now, along with Roxy. My horses comfort me when I'm sad and are on my side when I'm mad or worse, wrong.

Horses have given me so much more reason to live, and now they give me the courage I need too. Hard times and easy ones.

Every now and then I can hear Rowdy whinny at me from the pasture. I know he's not there, but somehow..he truly is there. He's in my heart and He'll never leave.

It will always be the same for me. I have good best friends, but I truest and long lasting friends are my horses. I guess you really cane say, All our best friends are horses.