Deceased EQUINE Risque

Date: Sat, 27 Mar 2004 11:24:13 EST
Subject: Risque 1999-2004

Beautiful Risque died in transfer to a major veterinary hospital yesterday morning as he was finally found by the side of a road not too far from where he had escaped from in extreme distress after 3 days of having been without water and veterinary attendance.

My deepest THANK YOU to all those who send me prayers and good wishes for a speedy recovery of my horse that went missing from his new home. It took me five years to get the idea through my head that I cannot keep him forever, so I finally sold him on a conditional contract to what I had believed was a good and suitable home. Little did I know that the day of his departure would be the last day I would ever see him again alive.

Again, thanks to anybody. He was not a TB race horse, but had the same nobility and heart and strength of character.

Anybody who feels like sending kind words to comfort me, please do so privately. Thank you kindly, SBmarino@aol.com 

Sabine

More to this sad story from Sabine: I"m sorry I cannot at this time thank every one individually for the compassionate and soothing words I received in regard to my horse Risque. So please, accept my deepest 'thank you' by way of this email. It's been a rough week, and I'm sure it has also been a nightmare for the people who wanted Risque.
I cannot, of course, piece all the details together, in particular since I had virtually no feedback from the person who had bought the horse which made things worse.

When Risque attempted to climb out of an enclosure with a solid 6' fence, he must have gotten hurt much more seriously than the vet estimated. It was dark by the time the vet arrived, I understand, and so perhaps that was part of the problem?

I wasn't informed of the incident then and wouldn't have found out perhaps, had I not called to see how my horse had made the trip and how he was doing. When the daughter told me about the fence incident, I had no way to suspect that the injuries were worse than what was described. I was told that he was up and not lame; that he had multiple surface scratches and one fairly large size hematoma on the side of his abdomen [wasn't made very clear], and that it was draining!!! This is what puzzled me, but when I called back the next morning to inquire further about his state, this is when I found out that he had disappeared. Since the fence needed mending, they had put him into another paddock with a lower vinyl fence [don't really know what exactly it was]. Everybody, including the vet thought that he wouldn't make another attempt to jump the fence because he was so 'sore.' But he did. They had administered some Bute. 

My guess now is that one reason why people didn't see him was that he perhaps lied down a lot somewhere he was traveling and that what was described as a hematoma was really a puncture of major consequences. A hematoma, I believe, is just not something that would drain within hours. In any event, within those three days, the injury developed into a massive infection not being treated. One must also strongly assume, that he didn't have any water, with the exception of whatever grass he could find.

I tell you, I don't even want to think about what he looked like when he was found, and in my mind, I don't dwell much on that part and try to remember him the way he left. I had taken pictures of him the morning of his departure and when we got him ready to load . 

Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Sabine