Vale Wynyard Lagan Bay

This morning at 9.15am Nicky and I unlatched the gate to the Rainbow Bridge and sent our darling Lagan across to join his old friends waiting for him on the other side. He will be missed by many people who were lucky enough to share their lives, in part, with such a wonderful horse.

I really have few words to say at this time other than how incredibly blessed I have been to have owned such a super horse for so many years and how grateful I am to have had him in my life. I'm devastated to have lost him so young as I suppose I had counted on having him around for many, many more years but when their time comes, there is nothing we can do other than ensure that they are afforded the love and dignity that they deserve. He died as he lived and he lived well.

Somewhere in time's own space
There must be some sweet pastured place
Where creeks sing on and tall trees grow
Some paradise where horses go,
For by the love that guides my pen
I know great horses live again.
~Stanley Harrison

Lagan

This morning his temperature is at 40.4 and his nose is bleeding again. Tomorrow we start him on oral antibiotics. He is still standing and eating although his appetite has diminished somewhat. He seems happy to see me when I visit and definitely loves his carrots but I am finding it incredibly hard watching him deteriorate. I've ridden this roller coaster before and I really hate the ride. I know that I can't give up on him yet as we could still win this but the longer it goes on and the worse he gets, little by little, the more I have to question if he is suffering more than is acceptable. My vet thinks we should keep going so keep going we will ...

Lagan a few days on

The second lot of blood tests came back with a teeny tiny improvement in his white blood cell count (so up from 0.3 to 0.5 - Normal range = 6-12!) but his liver and kidneys are working well so he is not going into organ failure (that would be very, very bad). At this stage we are going to hope that it is peritonitis (how ridiculous it sounds to hope for something so bad) as the only other real possibility is Leukaemia and we will treat him with ABs for another 10 days and then re-test his blood. If there is still no real change in his WBC then I will have a difficult decision to make. If he crashes in the next 10 days then we will have no real choice but to call it quits. If there is marked improvement, we will praise the powers that be and hopefully continue to see him return to full health!

I have been seeing him every day and have noticed a definite improvement in his state of being. He was really quite perky today, although a little wobbly. His appetite is excellent and he is eating multiple feeds/day and lots of hay, carrots and grass. He's a good Irish horse and LOVES his food!

So, for now we will keep on plugging away and hope and pray that he's going to beat the odds.

Thank you to all the concerned people who have contacted me to ask how he is. Your well wishes are greatly appreciated. Lagan sure has a lot of people rooting for him.

Lages & Nicola at Wairarapa Dressage Champs

Lages & Charlotte at home

Lages & Aimee schooling

Lagan

This morning his temperature has spiked again (40.5). My vet is not answering his cellphone so Nicky has contacted the on call vet and is going to go and grab some more flunuxin for his fever and to hopefully make him more comfortable. I am now very worried that he is suffering. I really don't want him to suffer.

Lages with Amy (and Aimee hiding behind him) at Equest Champs