Today was a very, very hard day. Not only did we say goodbye to Mona ... but we also let Raven go as well.
Raven isn't as well known as some, but this 23-year-old mare has spent the last several years in our care. Raven originally came to us when her elderly owner died, and a few weeks later her husband fell on the ice and broke his hip feeding her, her sister DeeDee and her father Dudley. The three of them had never left the farm they were born on, and while loved had minimal handling, and all three were in their upper teens or 20s. Dudley was lost a few years ago to old age, DeeDee was lost due to a strangulating lipoma ... leaving Raven, the one we thought would be lost first due to her health issues, to be the last one standing.
We quickly discovered that Raven was not only nearly fully blind, but also suffered from severe and chronic uveitis. For the first year with us she had a flareup nearly every 8 weeks - causing severe pain and requiring intense treatment. Ultimately we decided to remove her right eye, where the flareups always started, and immediately noticed a change as she immediately stopped having flareups. Raven also had a bag leg with arthritis and severe heaves ... really, she was a very special high needs girl.
But she was also, in her own way, low-maintenance. She didn't demand attention, though she appreciated it from the people she trusted. She was quiet in pasture, often submissive and would mind her own business. She was a constant companion to blind Saddlebred Maggie for several years until her loss, but also transitioned well when she was lost. For the last year or so she's been Airforce's emotional support horse - another blind horse - even though Airforce obviously had no idea he'd chosen another blind horse to be his guide. He would continually check in and softly touch her to make sure she was close, and she was never bothered by his neediness. They'd graze together and always be together. Airforce was allowed to spend time with her after she was gone to process her loss, and we will do our best to give him extra attention and find him a kind friend to help him through it.
Raven, even though blind, had an uncanny ability to find ways through fences and to find better food. One of our early memories is finding her about a mile down the road at our old location, grazing in a lush field, unbothered by the heart attacks she had given us all. As far as she was concerned she just found a better place to eat - and quietly just followed us home and back to the safety of her pasture.
Raven was smart, kind, and beautiful. She learned many words, as all of our blind horses do. The last few years she's been struggling, and we've been weighing her quality of life for a long time. This summer has been hard on her. She had a severe summer heaves attack, losing large amount of weight, and has been struggling to recover. She's had breathing issues, intestinal issues, and started having uveitis flareups again. In general, she's been down and not herself, and with winter coming and her bad leg, we had made the decision to let her go this fall. Yesterday she had a medical emergency that was extremely scary and traumatic on all of us, and while she recovered, all signs are that this issue could happen again and be a traumatic, horrible situation if it didn't resolve on its own. Though we were already struggling with saying goodbye to Mona, we made the excrutiating decision to let Raven go today as well, to ensure that her transition to greener pastures was easy, peaceful, and quiet.
While Raven didn't have a lot of human friends, those who did bond with her bonded deep, and there are a few of us that are hurting a great deal. And of course Airforce... our sweet Airforce ... is struggling as well. While we are happy to know Raven is running free, with a pain free body and full vision, breathing deeply, and safe forever ... she will be greatly missed.