Makes me sad but the time is nigh.

[l921428x]

As some of you know my wife and I have been married 25 years as of last month. Only 1 other
thing has been with us almost the whole time and that is my wifes horse.
Back in the day when she was riding him in equestrian events his stage name was/is
Private Idaho (after a B-52's song) also known as Woody when he is being a regular guy.

Well Woody is now 31 and has been a wonderful animal for us for 21 years. When I say wonderful
I mean just that. Never fussy, mean, never minded being controlled by the rein. He is fun loving
and a camera ham. He is 16.2 hands and weighs 998 now, 1200 when he was in his prime. Anyway
you get the picture.

Woody now has cancer and even though his heart and lungs are good, there is nothing we/he can
do to stop this. My wife is going to have him put down tomorrow and it is ripping her to pieces at this moment.
Their is nothing I can do or say to help her pain and that in turn is ripping me up. I know this will pass as all
things do but at this moment I feel lost. I love that horse also and I do not want him to leave either
but all things are born to die. She has chosen now because he is in no pain, at the moment, from the cancer
and she cannot stand the thought of the pain getting to him.

So as she cries, sings and plays the Beatles " If I Fell" on the piano I sit here with a tear in my eye
also telling you of this. Thanks for letting me vent. But even as the strangers you are in some ways I do
consider this rag tag bunch some kind of weird family and in times of pain, sometimes family is all we
have. Goodbye Private Idaho you have been a WONDERFUL addition to the Gantt family and will not be forgotten
easily.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yjUuX-I0QE

[rci2950]

This is really sad.

[Helen Keller]

wow, 31 is a long ride.




that's a crap thing to go through but horses are not an animal you want to see suffer.

[davepool]

Damn, that is absolutely heart breaking news.



I still regret the day i sold my horse 45 years ago, trained her from a green broke filly to a pretty decent calf roping horse in the 3 years i had her...horses are special animals

Of course you know the cure for this kind of tragedy....what are you going to name your new horse?

[El Jefe]

Damn shame. When you have an animal around that long they're family, and it hurts to lose them.

Gods speed, Woody.

[FunkyPertwee]

I can't say I know what it feels like.

Loosing a dog or cat is a terrible thing to feel, I can't imagine what it would feel like if I got to experience 31 years with them first.

When did you guys find out? If the pain won't start for a little while, then give it a week to sink in before you put him down.

[imanaknut]

I really feel for you and your wife. My sister has had horses forever and they are an amazing part of the family.

[alismith]

Sorry to hear of your having to put him down, but it is better that way.

To have lived that long, just remember he had the best home and "family" any horse could ever hope to have.

You made his life special and he made yours special. You couldn't ask for more.

[Gunner1558]

Sad to lose a friend, even more sad to lose an old friend.

[TEN-32]

Sorry dude. Sucks. Nothing left to say.

[Altarboy]

Wow. I'm sorry Bro.

[l921428x]

My wife says thanks for your responses that your all too sweet. Davepool she laughed at your take on things and said "No, I am getting too old."
But I thank you guys also.

It's over and went well according to my wife. Now she has a horse awaiting her when
she makes that trip. Thank You.

[El Duce]

I was never a horse person. But my Mom is, and I know how important they are to her. I can understand your loss.

[Hobe Sound AK]

I have always wondered about the Hand's thing. How do you convert Hands to Feet? no pun intended! I refer to Height! How many Hands would a 6 Foot Tall Horse be? for example? Paul

[l921428x]

Hands are literally hands, meaning height of the hand or about 4". Horses are not measured to the height of the head,
they are measure to the wither or basically to where the head/neck meet the shoulder. The spot where you would see a saddle horn.
So a 6' horse would be a large horse. 1'= 12" 3 hands = 1' so 18 hands would be the answer to your question.
At 16-2 hands Woody was 5' 8" or my human height. Hope this helps.

[Hobe Sound AK]

Yes indeed!