Heartbreaking news to share by way of Elissa, Mina’s adopter
“This is the message I had hoped to never have to write; I am so sorry and heartbroken to share this. We had to say goodbye to our beloved girl, Mina, earlier this week. She was a happy, robust, sweet, and thriving young mare, enjoying life here on our peaceful little ranch with our other horse, Watney, as well as our four little goats. They are surrounded on all sides by other fields filled with horses.
Mina was doing what she absolutely loved to do – playing in her 3‑acre field with Watney, reveling in her own speed and power as they enjoyed galloping across the grass. I had just been out taking my mom to lunch but got home not long after my husband (Brandon) left for work… He saw the horses having a great time in the field — nothing unusual, no concerns. When I arrived home a short time later, I looked out and saw Mina standing very oddly, slightly crouching, with her right foreleg held slightly off the ground. I called to her and when she didn’t move, I knew something was wrong. Once at her side I gave her all the comfort I could, looking for injury or sign of what happened while dialing our vet. I believe it occurred only minutes before I saw her. She had no external injury; there were no marks on the ground, no grass or dirt on her coat… I don’t even think she went down.
When the vet team arrived (two equine specialists plus support), they gave Mina some pain meds and assessed her as gently as possible. Her foreleg, apart from how she was holding it, looked normal. I feared she may have torn or injured something in her shoulder. But the vets quickly determined that she had snapped her radius up high at the head, just below the joint with the humerus. The vets described the mechanism for this type of injury to be perhaps a sudden turn as the horse is galloping (such as avoiding a collision with another horse) or similar event. Mina was massive and powerful, and could really open up at a gallop when they were playing. I don’t think she and Watney collided as there were no signs that happened, nor was he injured in any way. Maybe she suffered this injury whilst avoiding hurting her playmate. We will never really know. Tragically, this injury was so severe that euthanasia was the only path to take.
With pain meds on board, Mina was calm and stoic. She was her brave, giving, sweet self up to her last moments. The vets were kind and supportive, and also didn’t delay. Mina went quickly, quietly, and gently at home in her own field. I held her head and spoke in her ear long past, as we know that hearing is the last sense we lose at the end… We let Watney be a part of this sorrowful process to both support Mina, and to let him understand what was happening. This is so important to the surviving horse, in their grieving process. And though Mina’s energy and spirit go on, her remains are buried right where she laid down, here at home
We are still grappling with this very personal tragedy. The sadness is so heavy. Yet I am thankful for every moment with Mina! She was family. Though no amount of time with her would’ve been enough, three years certainly wasn’t. We will always love her and carry her in our hearts. And we will turn our minds to remembering all the good days – because there were many. We are so honored and humbled to have been her people. She brought us so much joy.”
