The Last Post

 

From Charlie's "friend"

For the last few weeks, I have been "helping" Charlie to write his blog (well, it's not easy to type with hooves, although I'm sure if Charlie could, he would). Dawn and everyone at the stables has been telling me what Charlie has been up to (and I've made sure I've had lots of chats with Charlie himself), and I've done my best to turn it into the words I'd like to think that Charlie would use.

This is the blog post I never thought I would have to write.

As you know, a couple of months ago Charlie became ill quite suddenly with a condition called Equine Metabolic Syndrome. This caused him to develop laminitis. We knew Charlie's dressage days would probably be behind him, but we hoped that with the right care and treatment, he would in time recover sufficiently to enjoy a good quality of reasonably active life.

He had been responding to the treatment well, and it looked like things were moving in the right direction. However, just after his last blog post, Charlie's laminitis suddenly and rapidly deteriorated, quite literally overnight. He was seen immediately by the farrier and the vet, but when his feet were x-rayed it was clear that the disease had progressed beyond any chance of recovery. It is an intensely painful condition, and we could not let him suffer.

Sadly, Charlie was put to sleep.

This was an absolutely heart-breaking decision to have to make, and Dawn - and everyone at Wenlo - is devastated.

We are able to take some comfort from knowing that we gave him every chance we possibly could. A huge part of that is thanks to the many people who so generously contributed to the campaign which paid for Charlie to have the best of medicine and care, and also thanks to the people who worked hard to look after him during his illness.

Charlie truly was a horse in a million, and we will all miss him more than mere words can say. However, if any of Charlie's friends - riders, parents, volunteers, supporters - has any words or thoughts they would like to share - a poem perhaps, a memory, or maybe a drawing or picture - please email them to Wenlo (see the Contacts page) and I will try to put some sort of tribute page together.

Goodnight, and God Bless, Charlie - and thank you.