He grazes
quietly at his dam’s side. He is six months old and full
of vitality and good health. His dam is a rich copper bay, and
he, a fiesty wild horse, is brown, turning black.
His friend challenges him, they fight it out, and he wins, as
so many times before.
His sire is a majestic metallic liver chestnut.
But in Desember 2006, African Horse Sickness strikes. His whole
herd begins to die, and pretty soon his dam also has the dreadful
virus.
As his dam fights for her life, he is also ill. He has billary.
His dam has had AHS for two days now, and is too weak to stand.
He is growing weaker by the day as well.
And being wild horses, no one was able to help them.
Then came Christo Germishuys, owner of Kaapsehoop Horse Trails,
and horse whisperer. He had no other choise but to put down the
colt’s dam. He loaded the colt into his bakkie, and took
him to his yard.
For two
weeks it was touch and go, until another orphaned wild colt (called
Wild Medlar) arrived.
His condition improved, as he stopped pining, and the Antibiotics
started setting in, so the Billary was completely gone.
Christo gave the colt, who by this time was black, to a girl called
Ruby. She called him Ebony. She taught him everything she knew,
and he soon was the perfect horse.
And then
another orphan arrived, this time a filly called Vanilla. Wild
Medlar, was also getting better.
Ebony In January
2007 |
Then, when
he was in almost perfect condition, he contracted Billary again,
and this time even the vets said that Christo should put the brave
yearling colt down.
Christo refused,
and with Ruby’s love, he got better.
Wild Medlar was given to me, but I will get to him another day.
In January 2007, Medlar and Ebony came to my farm. Medlar was
the dominant, and Ebony was the follower. But as Ebony became
stronger, he bacame more dominant. Soon three horses were boarded
on our farm. One mare, and two fillies. Then Medlar became less
dominant, finally realising he was a horse, and I was a human.
Ebony grew stronger by the day, and Ruby often came to visit her
horse.
Then in July 2007, I fed the horses as I usually did, at the same
time.
So half an hour after they had finished eating, I opened them
so that they could be free on our 225 hectare farm. They always
came home at feeding time, so we never worried.
The at 12pm, one hour after I had let them out, Ebony went back
to the pasture and just lay there.
This was unusual, as he only came back at 4pm. I went to check
on him, and he wasn’t well.
june
2007
|
I called all the vets in my area, but they all were busy. I called
Don, Gordon, Christo, Leon, and none of then could come. Then
I called Reinette, and she would be able to come within the hour.
I was under the instructions to let him roll. So I listened. But
soon I sensed it wasn’t okay to let him roll. I led him
around. The one hour turned into two. Then she came. When she
saw him, she was shocked that his condition was so bad. His gums
were yellow, he was dehydrated, and not even eating his favourite
treat, molasses with apples.
She gave him injesctions, and he was better. I had led him for
six hours by now. The vets still could not come. I called Don,
and luckily he could come.
He came and forced water down Ebony’s throat. At least he
was hydrated now.
But now he could hardly stand.
I was busy bedding his stall when Ruby came. Her eyes were red
from crying, as were mine.
We let him into the stable, and he collapsed. He could not stand
for much longer, he was exhausted.
We called Leon who was in Johannesburg, and he said he had a horse
not long ago who had the same simptoms. He told us to put a rug
on him, get a heater in the stall, and give him mampoer to get
his belly warm, so that he would be in less pain.
He had acute colic.
The vets were not able to come during the night. Every now and
then, when his stomach would begin to ache again, we had to give
him mampoer. Then he would lay still for half an hour to an hour.
Pain medicine would not even help any more. The next day was school,
but I refused to go.
At 11am, we took him out of the stall. We led him to the pasture,
where he saw his best buddy, Medlar. A choir of exited whinnies
went off. They were so happy to see each other.
I tried catching Medlar and the filly to put them in their feed
camps, cos’ they have not had feed that day, but they were
not even interested in feed. That was weird.
I offered Ebony one of his favourite treats, a Pringle chip, but
he would not eat it.
Medlar was staring to stess, run up and down, around the round
pen where we were with Ebony, and he even tried to jump the 3meter
high pen. He stopped one meter away and started neighing and running
again.
We called the vets, and finally, one of them were able to come.
At quarter to twelve the vet came, and I have never been so scared
in my life. Then. After five minutes, he said that he had to be
put down. My whole world spinned around me in a blur. I was so
shocked I could hardly speak. I just stared out in front of me
and nodded as tears ran down my cheeks.
At 12pm, exactly 24 hours after his pain began, it ended.
Feeding the horses that night wasn’t the same. The filly
was moved to Ebony’s feed camp; it didn’t feel right.
Every time I wanted to turn to Ebony and talk to him or groom
him, all I saw was the cheeky grey face of the two year old filly.
Ruby might well be one of the nicest people I know. The day Ebony
died, she sent me a chocolate, and gave her condolences, even
though I knew she was aching more inside than I could ever imagine.
She had raised this foal, gave him his medicine; they were as
one.
I will never forget this amazing little horse and his owner.
The last
day he was truly
Happy. 14 July 2007
