The oldest one, a quarter horse that is 29 (nearly 30) years old managed to get out of the pasture and has disappeared. She has been getting skinnier and skinnier and I have been preparing my wife for the inevitable end that is coming. "Failure to Thrive" is the phrase most often used when animals are reaching a (hopefully) natural end.
I was not prepared for this. I am assuming that she wandered off to die in private. This might sound warm and fuzzy, but honestly, it isn't. I would much rather I had her body to bury now rather than find it when the turkey vultures show me where she is.
We spent the last two days scouring the 40 acres to the south of us, which is full of chest high juniper bushes and thick pine plantation. We searched as much of the large 60 acre swamp to the west of my property without finding so much as a hoof print in the mud.
We let the neighbors know, called the local constable and pretty much exhausted ourselves looking. I am convinced that she is laying in the junipers not far from the pasture. The problem is, in that area, you could be 3 ft from her and not know it. We will have to wait....we have done all we can.
My wife insists on walking after work tonight, and perhaps we will find her, but most likely nature will have to show us where she is.
This sort of thing has not happened before and it really sucks.
The only thing that makes it slightly better?
While walking through the prickers, my wife scared up a fairly big doe. Both the deer and my wife were startled. As we continued walking, we nearly stepped on her fawn, which could not be more than a day old.
Perfectly still with only a hint of shivering - likely from fear and not cold. We snapped the above shot and moved on with our search, wondering how it is that we can stumble across a newly born fawn no bigger than a large house cat and not find a horse.
Life goes on. It always has and always will.
