It seems like we’ve had enough of these RIPs lately. Annie went to the great pasture in the sky this fall (age 26) and yesterday Gus joined her. Gus (aka Joey Bar Moore) has been a boarder here at Cascade Gold since around 1994, which made him one of the family, along with his person, Alice. Gus and Alice had many adventures along the way. I remember taking them to a John Lyons clinic way back when, a many, many days of chatting with both of them. In his later years (Gus would have been 36 this year) Gus became very ‘set in his ways’ and we accommodated that; if he wanted his buddy Willie in sight, Willie was in sight. If he wanted a blanket off, the blanket came off. Gus was surprisingly good at letting us know what he wanted. Always a gentleman, usually with a sense of humor.
The last few years, Gus has been one of our ‘mushmen’. These are our older horses (35, Gus, 28, Doc, 26, Khan, 24, Maz) who get LOTS of mush. Doc is the only one who doesn’t get hay, as he just won’t eat it. The others test my cooking skills, figuring out which mixture of beet pulp, hay pellets and senior feed, keeps them plump and energized.
Sunday night, Gus was frisking and frolicking (no lie) in the arena, when he lost his balance and fell badly. We were able to get him up, talked to Dr. Hannah and followed her directions. He got cold packs, banamine and lots of love. The next morning though, it was obvious that the fall was too much for him. I stayed with him until Alice and Dr. Hannah arrived and he went peacefully over the Rainbow Bridge.
I spent the day doing chores and trying to come up with haikus (I’m too impatient for longer verse) about him.
Running wild and free
Many years of love and life
We will miss you Gus.
