NOVEMBER 21, 2017

 

Today we laid our golden boy to rest. 💛

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One cannot help but notice when they are in the company of greatness. That stood true with Midas. No horse has ever showed such determination, fight, and a will to live, despite the odds stacked high against him. No horse was more awe inspiring than this humble guy. His battle scars from his life prior to us saving him tells a tragic tale.... but a tale that he did not let define him. Midas held no grudges. He let go of the past that was clearly so unkind to him. He loved everyone he met... there wasn’t a being who could meet him and not fall in love with him. For an animal to have suffered so much but to be so kind and trusting, so willing and amicable, so loving and gentle, is truly something amazing....and something we all can learn from. Midas was one of a kind.

It’s been a long road we have traveled with Midas. One with lots of ups and downs, highs and lows. Through it all, Midas was forever a champion, so strong and so brave. His severely damaged hoof underwent several surgeries to cut back the dead, diseased tissue and to help promote new hoof growth. Quite honestly, it is absolutely incredible how much hoof Midas was able to grow back!! He was well on his way to having a useable hoof. It was an expensive process... lots of vet visits, surgery, distal limb profusions, lots of antibiotics,Farrier Work, bandages, etc. Midas was well worth all of it and he deserved the chance we gave him. The fight for his life. Midas had a will to live that was unparalleled. You can’t fathom it, it can’t be explained, but he had the strongest, most amazing inner strength. Like a fire that just couldn’t be put out. There were a few times along this tumultuous journey that we were going to call it quits due to complications.... somehow, every single time, Midas rallied and fought harder. It was almost as though he knew and wasn’t ready. We promised Midas and ourselves (and all of you) that we would always be cognizant and careful to know when or if we got to the end of his road, that we would end his suffering peacefully and humanely, and not continue the struggle for him selfishly. It’s hard to explain how a horse can tell you when they’re ready or not, but truly, they do.

With Midas’ hoof making great progress, we had the highest of hope..... and then he unexpectedly went off of his hay (which he always loved so much) and we knew something must be bugging him. X-rays confirmed that Midas had a broken, impacted tooth. It was infected and painful and required to be extracted.... herein lies the problem. The tooth was far too deeply impacted to be removed at the barn. It would have required Midas traveling to an equine hospital and undergoing major surgery under general anesthesia. After a lot of debating and consulting with our veterinarians, we did not feel it was fair to ask Midas to travel a long distance in a horse trailer, forcing him to balance on his tender hoof. We tried running a course of additional antibiotics to help the infection in his tooth. Midas was starting to drop weight rapidly due to his inability to eat hay. Thankfully, the antibiotics kicked in, he began eating hay again, and slowly put weight back on. To say we were watching him like hawks would be an understatement. He started to have more good days and bad days. His tooth clearly still was an issue. And one that we were unable to resolve for him. You cannot imagine our frustration to have anything other than his horrible hoof be threatening the life of this great horse. The final straw ended up being something so simple, something so common, but with everything else piled up against him, it truly was the final straw that took down our mighty, golden boy. Midas developed a deep, painful abscess in his hoof. An abscess that on any other horse would be easily managed... such a common occurrence in the horse world. We know abscesses will go away... they aren’t a death sentence... but it was finally too much for him. He let us know it was time. Midas slipped peacefully from this world knowing he was loved. Knowing that he mattered. Knowing that we cared. Midas was something breathtaking to behold. He will live on forever in our hearts and souls. Rest easy, Midas... you deserve it. You fought long and hard. Till we meet again....💔⭐️🌈🐴

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We have to thank Ashley Blank for all of her incredible hard work and care she gave to Midas over the several months he was with her. He required endless amounts of time and extra care with daily bandage changes, medicines, etc. She took exceptional care of Midas and showed him what it feels like to be loved. Without a doubt, he loved her for it and always showed his gratitude. Big hugs....

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If anyone would like to make a donation in memory of Midas, or to help cover his final costs and his vet bills we still are paying off, it is so greatly appreciated. We are truly devastated over the loss of this great horse. Thank you for your support.

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Checks can be mailed to PO Box 301, Uwchlan, PA 19480. Likewise, monetary donations can be made directly to our PayPal account : noahsarps@gmail.com

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