A Fall From Hope, Farewell Rosemary

Life can change in a moment especially when you own horses. A couple weeks ago Rosemary had some swelling between her front legs. It looked like what happens when a kick to the chest drops down. I decided not to ride her in case it bothered her. As the weekend progressed I noticed she also had fluid retention on her belly. I had a niggle of worry. DaVinci has that on his belly from his heart mummur. Rosemary had a cough, but with her history of breathing issues, we took that in stride. Then Sunday into Monday she had labored breathing. On Tuesday she received PEMF treatment and seemed to feel a bit better. But on Wednesday she stumbled into the stall for breakfast. Mom could actually video her breathing it was so bad. The vet said he would come after he saw the video. I was totally stressed at work as I waited.

It turned into almost full blown panic when Mom said she had to go to the vets because she had a temperature and fluid around her lungs. Of course thanks to Covid, Mom could not be with her at the vets. They came back with plural pneumonia and a 50% survival rate. We had to wait for labs to determine the cause/type. Mom and I both kicked ourselves for not calling for help sooner and worrying that we caused it with her nebulizer. The vets continued to battle her temperature, ice her feet to prevent laminitis and monitor the drain tube. That first day they took off four liters of fluid, which helped her breathe easier. The tech would bring her bananas for a treat. They were leaning towards bacterial and we began to hope.

Thursday the check up call began positive, but guarded. Our biggest worry was how to pay for the $12000 treatment. I began to research borrowing against my 401K. Then there was a fall from hope with one phone call. What seemed treatable, became devastating with the diagnosis of cancer. Trying to drive home while crying with Mom on the phone was a trial. So not fair to lose our just turned 13 yr old fun and sassy girl. Of course now we wonder if all her issues over the last year  or two has been this brewing.We had to wait for the vet to call on Friday. It was a long tearful wait.
Peggy and I took Roscoe to a collection in the morning. It was touch and go as to whether Roscoe would let me catch him in the stall. He did not know why I was so upset. But he had the best collection to date. The vet even asked if I switched stallions.  I had to distract Peggy with politic talk to keep her from crying all the way home. One of us needed to be able to drive. It was heartbreaking to pull up to the barn and hear Dottie call, thinking Rosemary had come home.
Mom finally got the call from the vets in the afternoon. We would get no miracle. Rosemary had mesothelioma and treatment was not an option. Plus our cob girl was losing her appetite. We arranged a time to go be with her. Rosemary was burning up and the swelling was increased. She was so uncomfortable. We spent over an hour grazing her and giving her treats. She did relax a little, but could not really stand still. We knew it was time. This was honestly the hardest  to watch because of her discomfort. She went quickly almost even before the second syringe. Nearly 10 years of sassy pony girl lost in a moment.  We had no other choice. but it hurt. I could not handle her going in the ground so I pushed for cremation. She comes home on Tuesday. On top of the vet bill, it is not the cheapest option, but it was the one that worked. We will figure out finances later.
The barn does not feel right without her. So much of how we ran the barn revolved around her. So hug your ponies tight. Life can change so quickly. Off to cry some more.