So last weekend Daisy had to get stitches because of a freak accident when Emily (my trainer) and Ellen (manger) were at a horse show and i was the only one there. 

Well, this weekend (while emily and ellen were gone of course) there was another catastrophe. One of our older school horses that has been having medical problems died. 

We had her checked about a month ago by the vet because she was rapidly loosing weight and was oozing green goo out of her mouth. After blood work was done (we thought she had kidney failure) they concluded that her teeth needed floated and that her condition was just old age and that she should be fine after her teeth were done… and she was for a few weeks. 

I was running to the barn to get something I forgot before leaving to drive home (reins for ashley). As I was jumping in my car to go home I looked into the paddock because I heard some unusual groaning and saw Maddy fall down onto the ground. She didnt lay down she just fell over sideways with stiff legs like when someone tips a cow. 

As soon as I saw her go down I immediately grabbed my phone and sprinted to where she was. The barn staff saw her at the same time I did and came rushing with a hose to cool her off. I called Ellen and explained to her that it seemed like she had heat stroke or something and we couldnt get her up. She was having muscle convulsions and occasional stiffening and possibly seizing. Her eyes were unresponsive but not dilated and her tongue was hanging out. She told me to call the emergency line.
By the time I got on the phone with the vet Maddy was already declining. The staff was hosing her off because she was on million degrees and it seemed to calm her down a little and we werent worried about putting her into shock because she obviously was already in shock.

I explained to the vet that she was having convulsions and was overheating and that it looked like she would be expired before he got here (he was an hour away) and asked if there was anything i could give her to calm her down. He told me to give her 12ccs of banamine to kill her pain and relax her muscles enough so that she can pass peacefully. 

So i ran up to the office and got the banamine and ran down to the paddock. Halfway there I yelled if she was still alive and they said yes but as soon as I jumped into the paddock syringe ready she took her last breath. 

We suspect that her pituitary gland or some other gland in her brain stopped working or exploded and caused her to have a heat stroke.

I cant find any pictures of her but her show name was Pocket Change and she did a lot of eventing during her career before she became a lesson horse. Her previous owner named her Pocket Change because she saved up all her nickels and dimes to buy this mare. 

RIP old lady, you gave us years of service and I just wish you could have passed more peacefully…