While my mother is the eldest person living at my house, Copenhagen is the eldest animal. He turned 25 this past April. That is a respectable age for a horse; especially one that has been as active as he has been.
Copenhagen is a Quarter Horse (no, we didn’t name him. He came with that name.). I bought him 12 years ago from a ranch in Abilene for my daughter, who was just 9 years old. She had been taking English riding lessons for a few years and was needing a horse that was safe, versatile and fun. Her first horse, Freckles, was none of those things, so buying another horse was a really big deal.
Turns out that we couldn’t have made a better match of little girl and her horse. Copenhagen built her confidence back up, and became her best friend, her first love. There is no bond like a girl has with her horse. It is difficult to explain; childhood bonds run deep anyway, but when it comes to a horse, he becomes her everything. He always listens, he never tells her secrets, he is perfect for hugging, and he never gets mad at her.
Copenhagen was always ready for adventure. Being on a ranch, he learned many things about the western way of life. I never saw him afraid of anything, except pigs. Being in the United States Pony Club, my daughter and Copenhagen did quite a variety of things and went a lot of places. They even went to Lexington, Kentucky for the United States Pony Club National Championships.
She taught him everything having to do with English riding from dressage, show jumping and cross country jumping to polocrosse. We really discovered, through playing polocrosse, how competitive he is. Briefly, polocrosse is a mixture of lacrosse and polo. Riders carry a racquet to pick up a rubber ball. They pass it to other team members and throw it at a goal to score. Copenhagen loved it!
Unfortunately, he became un-rideable a few years ago due to an eye injury. He ended up losing the eye, but he also suffered a knee injury which caused the knee to deform and lose flexibility. It was a very hard transition for him to go from being so active to handicapped.
The last 3 years or so have been challenging. It has become increasingly harder to keep weight on him, keep his immune system strong, and manage his pain. Horses are very stoic. It is hard to tell when they are hurting or don’t feel good in general. Mostly, you see it in their eyes and the way they move.
To help his body stay strong and healthy, I completely changed his diet. I took him off of all grains, and everything that had soy, beet pulp or anything artificial. A horse’s natural diet consists of grasses. They don’t eat grains or beet pulp or any of the other crazy stuff they put in horse feed. Up until a few days ago, his supplements have all been holistic, and organic. The equine chiropractor has been a big help relieving pain and getting his joints more supple. The veterinarian and I have been reluctant to put him on any pharmaceutical drug for pain due to his blood test results.
Finally, it has become apparent that Copenhagen needs more pain relief. Medication always comes with side effects, but this appears to be the only way I am going to get him comfortably through the winter. He should start gaining weight more quickly now. When the weather turns cold, I will put a blanket on him. I can’t keep him in a stall to keep him warm and dry because he gets too stiff from too little movement. He wants to still be a horse, outside and on the move. The pain meds help and he looks happy again. He has a healthy appetite, and he enjoys being groomed and doted on.
Copenhagen has been such a huge part of our family that it is hard to talk about him without tears wanting to fall from my eyes. But I pledge to take care of him just like would any person in my family. As long as he is happy and knows he is loved, then I have done a good job.
1 Corinthians 13:7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
