On 4th September we had to say good bye to our wonderful pony Daisy.

She had fractured her lower jaw just over a week previously, and despite being on strong antibiotics, it still became infected, at which point, there was nothing else that could realistically be done.

Jaw fractures are common in horses, especially young, playful ones. They can heal very well, and there are surgeries, but for older horses, the story is not so great.

I did not feel surgery was the right way to go for Daisy, mostly because it involved wire hooked onto teeth (which she did not have) and general anesthesia, which would be “dicey’ for an animal of her age, neither of which was something I was willing to put her though.

This is something that my vet agreed with.

I could have kept her going, but again, since the infection set it, I noticed a change in her attitude, and while, sometimes she looked fine, there were others, I noticed her standing in the corner of her stall looking “defeated”. She was also on a “draft” horse dose of pain meds, and she was still unable to graze easily.

I did not ride Daisy, but she did help me teach a number of children a solid foundation in riding. Before I started teaching with her, I spent time lounging and working with her in the school. We learnt how to talk to each other and look after the children together.
She knew exactly how much she could get away with and if the child was not paying attention, she would just wonder back to me….. She knew exactly where all the treats were!!

She also made an AWESOME UNICORN!