In the end he was trapped in a failing body & though the hardest thing I've ever had to do, I had to let him go. I spent the last few days & night with him. We took him to the old barn Sunday & let him say his fairwells to the other horses & then took him back to the farm. Yesterday he ate grass & napped in the yard & we watched a few rounds of golf (he was so fasinated by it) at the the country club across the drive. We then made our last trip to his paddock. He was given sedation to help him lay down. He went peacefully in his sleep surrounded by family. He was placed between two fence posts were he often stood watching the golfers & enjoying the shade of the two big pines.
He was an unforgetable horse & one hell of a ride.
I didn't enter into the decision lightly. Spending his last days with him (& I mean barily leaving him)I saw things I hadn't let myself see or acknowledge. I lost count of all the times I thought I saw improvements (he ate more grass in those last 3 days then he had in the last week) & thought maybe I'm not doing what's best, maybe I should cancel, but then he'd start heaving, coughing, or take a step & I'd see the pain in his eyes. When he worsen Saturday night, he keep looking at us, begging for help. The medication eased him, but I saw it in his eyes, he was tired & he struggled to do day to day things...breath, eat, move. I know he's in a better place, but I still have all the what ifs running through my head.
Feel free to visit Fruity's page & learn about him.