Posted by jalea on February 10, 2003 at 23:54:18:
My old mare died this past Saturday, she would have been 30 years old this coming April. She had just finished her dinner and the sun was beginning to set, I was sitting down inside the house and heard her and some of the other horses "talking". I looked out the door and saw her down on the ground in a tremendously violent seizure. I ran out to her and she was trying to get up, before I got there she fell back down into another violent seizure in which her legs were jerking so violently that they were snapping and crackling and her hooves were hitting against each other very loudly. After the second seizure her eyes were jerking around like someone had been spinning her around. As I held her and talked to her her lips drew up into a horrible grimace and she was enveloped into the horrific throes of a third and final seizure. To touch her felt like electricity until she finally relaxed and took her final few labored breaths and passed away.
She had had an unexplained eye infection that was nearly cleared up but other than that she had been fine. She was turned out for exercise nearly everyday with the weanlings because she had been retired as a saddle horse. She had been eating and drinking fine and showed no outward signs of distress. We had recently wormed her but that had been about two weeks prior. This was a terrible, terrible loss to me. This fantastic and beloved member of my family is so, so missed. I just want to have an idea what could have happened. I wonder if she knew what was happening to her and if she was afraid. Is there any peace of mind that you can offer me?
