Last Saturday, Aubrey slipped on a wet stall mat at her foster home. When she got back up, she was not putting weight on her right hind leg. Dr. Fleck examined her and found that she was very sensitive in her pelvic area. He was fairly certain that she has sustained a fracture to her pelvic bone but could not confirm with x‑ray due to the thickness of this area on a horse.
At the guidance of Dr. Fleck, we decided to put her on pain medications to see if there would be any improvement over the next few days. She was set up in a deeply bedded stall with hay and water within easy reach. Over the next two days, her vitals, heart rate, and respiration remained elevated but did show a slight improvement after medication was given. Aubrey did not move around very much in her stall, but would, at times, set her injured right hind down. She continued to have a good appetite, bowel movements, and was somewhat tolerant of her confinement.
Dr. Fleck visited her yesterday morning to do another evaluation. He had been very realistic with us on Saturday, so we know that without marked improvement in the next few days, the kindest choice for her would be to euthanize. Sadly, she was still not bearing weight on that limb and any movement to put weight on it seemed very painful. We all felt that giving her a few days, as long as she was comfortable, was fair and would help us know we were making the right decision. Yesterday, we are comforted knowing that we were able to give her one last act of kindness and end her pain.
Aubrey’s foster mom Jackie spent the last days carefully watching over Aubrey. She kept her hay raised up so she could easily and happily munch away at it. Jackie took Aubrey’s blanket off and gave her a nice long grooming, braided her hair, “did girl things.” She also did some light energy work to comfort her. While Aubrey was not the most affectionate mare, she clearly enjoyed the attention. She became very relaxed, started to fall asleep, and her heart rate even dropped a bit more. SAFE is forever grateful for Jackie’s love and care of Aubrey.
Aubrey had beautiful last days. She was loved, fed, and her every need was attended to. Horses force us to live in the moment with them, and we are thankful that in the moments that Aubrey had with us, she was never mistreated, alone, or forgotten.
