Endings Aren't Always Happy

Apache  1984- Dec 28, 2012

We have come to the end of another year and I feel I have come to the end of an era.  This past Friday, we lost our beloved equine companion and friend, Apache, after almost 20 years together.  For some time, he has had trouble getting up, especially if he is on his left side.  He did better with joint supplements that I put on his feed every evening, but I think I knew that eventually that would just not be enough.  I won't go into details here because it was an ordeal that I will not easily forget, but suffice it to say, somehow, during the early morning hours of the 28th, Apache got lost.  How, I'll never know.  My guess is he was up in the pasture and was chased or scared into the woods  and found himself 1/2 a mile from home, thankfully in a place he could be seen by a passing car.  When discovered, he was down and had been for hours.  He is now buried on the farm next to us, which is where he was found.  I wrote a post about Apache in the past, which you can read here:
http://straightforkfarm.blogspot.com/2010/07/meet-apache.html 

Some day, I may get another horse, but now is not the time.  Apache, I miss you.