We said goodbye to Chester today.
Chester was the first horse Carus bought. He was the first horse we owned, and while I don't think he'll be the last, that first spot is pretty special. He was pretty special.
He helped Carus end her time in 4H on high notes. They won a dressage medal together! And came VERY close to getting Dad Potter. The judge might have given that last point if she knew it was their last shot at it - might not have, but I'd like to think she would have. It was just that close.
After Carus finished 4H, I took over riding him more and did lessons on him almost weekly. He was definitely helping my confidence!
Chester, Chezzy, Cheeseball, Cheddar, Cheddar bean.
I'm so glad that we decided to remove his painful uveitis eye in 2020, even though we were devastated to know his "good" eye wasn't that good after all. We gave him - and us - more time. August 2020 to January 2022 isn't as long as we wanted, but it was more time.
Knowing it had signs of uveitis and cataracts helped us help him adjust as his eyesight dwindled. And when he started having full uveitis flares in that eye, we knew we wouldn't let it get as bad as his other eye had been. We knew better now.
He had a pretty bad flare in early December. Just shy of about 2 months since the one before. This time he came out of the flare completely blind, at least in our opinion. Every now and then I thought he might be able to see something but then he'd bump into the wall of his stall and struggle to find his hay pile.
He was comfortable in his stall and his pasture and with certain people leading him, but got very nervous and scared if any of those variables changed.
We pushed to get through the holidays, and made it. I talked myself out of it and back in a billion times. Carus distanced herself from him/the barn - though she'd been doing that for awhile, knowing what was coming. I scheduled as much of things as I could. I made the appointment I made sure his previous family that we got him from were able to come say goodbye and that the barn family, especially those with younger kids, had a heads up. I traded shifts so that I could get the full day off and scheduled for a Friday so I could have the weekend to process. We even picked the day we'd cut off his tail, which I had washed 3 times after the decision was made in December and put up to keep it as clean as possible. Robert came with us, and the three of us were there for the full thing.
A friend shared a poem with me for the occasion, and it was definitely true of Chezzy. His tail went in three sections - one for me, one for Carus, and one for the girl/family we got him from. Our friend Beth took a small chunk too.
The Best Horses in Heaven, They Have No Tail
by Miska Paget
The best horses in Heaven they have no tail. This is a rule they all know without fail.
For when a new horse arrives with a short cut bob, they all know that this horse did a very good job.
His owner could not bear to part with her friend so she saved his tail, wrapped in ribbons and in braids, to hold with his memory in a very loving way.
To enter Heaven without a tail is an honor, a message, that without fail announces to everyone, far and wide that this horse was more than a wonderful ride.
But this horse was loved and cherished by one and when his time serving on this Earth was done he left behind a broken heart
and a soul from which he never will part.
(This photo wasn't from that day, but I didn't want to share the photos I have. )
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