In Memory of Chex

Chex was a gorgeous black quarterhorse.

The first time I laid eyes on him, I thought he looked just like Black Beauty! The only difference was that Chex had EPM, a type of menengitis in horses. His days with us were to be limited, but we were determined to give it our all for him.

Chex became fast friends with Justin, another one of our old men here at the Sanctuary. They rarely left each other's side. Chex enjoyed his special priveledges here, like roaming through the pasture at will and having his daily snack of senior grain, not to mention the yummy apples and carrots that came with our dedicated volunteers.

I have never met an animal so full of life and one who has fought so hard to maintain it. His wasn't an easy one. At the age of 24 he shed off the outside of his hooves and lost a tremendous amount of weight due to neglect and EPM, usually this is where it would end for a horse in this position.

Chex was not ready, he fought this and won. This is where he enters our Sanctuary. He had regained his hoof wall and much of his weight. He was just a bit wobbly on his hind end and has had some days that just didn't feel well, but his will to live never faltered.

We all knew that he would eventually fall and not be able to get back up. This would be a hard day. We hoped it would never come. Today it did. While I write this, I can't help but have watery eyes. I found him laying down and called in reinforcements, our farrier, our veterinarian and we sat with him all day, feeding, watering, pain killers, trying everything. He could not get up, the day had come.

So with happiness that Chex had come to us and lived his life out with friends and beings who all loved him, we let him go, thankful he had not ended up on a truck headed for slaughter a year ago.

We love you Chex and will always think of you!

Chex's picture can be found on our website under sponsor animals

Donations are also needed to help with our veterinary bills for this, approximately $265.00