March 13, 1975 - April 24, 2006
This is the story of Go Light Deck. He was a Registered Quarter Horse with an impressive lineage, including such famous horses as Go Man Go, Go Lightly, and Man o' War in his pedigree. To us, he was known as Decker. Back in 1991, my husband (at the time) and I went to the Red River auction and looked at the horses for sale. We liked several horses they had there and we had decided to bid on some of them. We really liked this one blood bay gelding and decided we would try to buy him. When the auction started, we bid nervously as the price kept going higher and higher. We only had $1000 to spend. Finally, the bid reached $1000 and we made that bid. The auctioneer said going, going, SOLD for $1000! We won the horse we wanted at the auction. Decker was ours.
When we got Decker home from the auction, we tried riding him and he was so unruly, we couldn't get him to behave. We were boarding him at a stable where we could ride to a riding stable of 300 acres and the wranglers that worked there thought they could "tame" him by spurring him and whipping him into submission. Ha! The more they tried to bully him, the more stubborn he got! Finally, my husband decided to try some reverse psychology on him. He just mounted up and made Decker stand still. Whenever Decker wanted to move, he just made him stand still. He did this for hours. Finally, Decker got tired of it and when he finally asked him to go, Decker willingly went wherever he asked him to go. After that day, Decker did whatever he wanted. It seemed that they had an understanding after that. He never got ugly again.
When we first got Decker home from the sale barn, he had a really bad cold. We were out at the boarding stable grooming Sage and Decker, getting ready to ride, and Decker came up behind me and blew his snotty nose all over the back of my cashmere sweater. Then, he wiped it all down my back. That sweater was totally ruined. I just took it off and threw it in the trash. We still laugh about it to this day. However, every time after that, if Decker had a runny nose, we would both stay clear!!
We spent many weekends riding Sage and Decker at the stable there until we managed to get a place of our own. Then we moved them to our own 20 acres out in Wise county. They were very happy there. Then we started adding donkeys to the mix and they got along fine with the donkeys. Decker liked to sleep in the hay when we put hay out in the winter for them to eat.
Decker was such a smooth horse to ride. We used to call him the "cadillac" of horses. You could ride him bareback and not even bounce on his back at the trot. He was funny though, when he trotted, his guts made a weird squeaky sound. The vet said it was normal though, just not a lot of lubrication in his abdominal cavity. Nothing to worry about. It sounded funny though.
Decker was 13 years old when we got him. At the age of 28, he was diagnosed with cancer. It happened in a most unusual way actually. Decker had a habit of mounting and teasing mares. I had never owned a mare before, only geldings. My husband and I divorced and I ended up remarrying and we purchased a draft mare, Pecos Annie. When Annie was in heat, Decker tried to breed her through the fence. Unfortunately, he cut himself badly on the fence in this effort. We had to have the vet come out and treat him for his injuries. While he was sedated, the vet noticed a large swelling in his leg. At that time he figured out that it wasn't a swollen leg, it was a retained testicle!! For all those years, we thought we had a gelding on our hands when we actually were dealing with a stallion with a retained testicle. No wonder he had attitude problems!! Anyway, the vet told us that at his age, it would be a good idea to have it removed because when horses get that old they can turn into cancer. So we scheduled to have it removed in a few weeks because it wasn't causing him any problems.
However, before the date of the procedure arrived, Decker started to swell up in his abdomen and his sheath started swelling up. We called the vet out again and he decided to do the surgery right then. We were warned that he might not survive the procedure. When he cut Decker open, we found that the testicle had completely abcessed and had almost completely dissolved into pus and just a nasty infection. The doctor cleaned it out as best he could and left the wound open to drain. We were hopeful that he had gotten it all out and that Decker would recover.
Unfortunately, over the next several years, the cancer slowly spread through Decker's body and the wound never closed up. He was constantly having to undergo surgery to have additional growths removed and to have more infected pockets cleaned out of his abdomen. The entire time, he was eating like a horse, no pun intended, and he was in pretty good condition otherwise. There was one period of time that he started to lose weight for some reason. He lost so much weight, in fact, that a passerby actually called Animal Control and reported me for animal cruelty. I was cleared of any wrong-doing once they spoke to me and my vet and found out what was going on with his health. Unfortunately, the person did not take their word and then reported me to the ASPCA. They also investigated me and cleared me of any wrong-doing. Since that happened, I changed the vitamin supplements I was giving Decker and increased his rations to 5 times a day instead of 3 and he gained back all of the weight he had lost. In fact, the vet told me that he was almost too fat at one point. However, the same woman continued to call and complain about Decker 3 more times, but I was cleared each time, of course. I decided, along with my vet, that as long as he was happy and eating well to let him go on living and being a horse. I knew that he would let me know as soon as he started to feel bad.
Then one day I noticed that Decker didn't come to eat breakfast when I called him in the morning before I left. Sometimes he wouldn't come because he was a little hard of hearing so I just left the food in his trough and left for the day. When I got home, I found him standing on my front porch. I took him back to the feeder and he ate dinner, but he was very lethargic and didn't seem very interested in eating. His tail was barely swishing to get the flies off of him. When I looked him in the eye, I could see that he was giving up the fight. I talked to my ex husband and we decided that we would go ahead and let him go. This was on a Sunday. I called the vet on Monday morning and scheduled to have him come out to the house on Wednesday when we could both be there. I made all the arrangements with the pet cemetery and had everything planned.
But Decker had his own agenda...
When I came home from work on Monday, Decker was again standing on the front porch. He looked like he had been standing there all day long. There was a puddle of blood and pus underneath him where his belly had ruptured open from the cancer. His breathing was very rapid and shallow. He was standing with his forehead pressed against the front door. He refused to move or eat anything. I managed to get him over to the water tank to get a drink of water, but after he drank, he walked right back to the front door and pressed his head against the door again. It was like he was saying he wasn't going to let me in the house until I did something about him. I got on my cell phone and called my ex husband and told him to leave work and come over right away. He was able to get off work early and come over. I called the vet and asked him to come that evening instead of waiting until Wednesday. I knew that Decker probably wouldn't make it to Wednesday and he was probably suffering now. The vet had several emergencies that he had to handle before he could get to my house. While we were waiting, we stood with Decker and rubbed his face and ears and told stories about how we used to ride him and how fast he was and all the things he used to do when he was young. We told him how much we loved him and how he was going to get to see Sage again soon and how he wouldn't be in any pain anymore.
When Dr Ables got there, we moved Decker out into the front yard and got him ready. We had already cut a couple of locks of mane to keep. He gave the injection in the neck, and Decker was gone before his head even hit the ground. He laid down very quickly. Dr Ables checked for a pulse and heartbeat and found none. For a few minutes, Decker's body seemed to gasp for air, but the doctor assured us that it was just muscle twitches and that he was no longer with us. After the doctor left, we sat with him for a little while and waited for Brother Ben from Pine Hill to arrive. Once he got there, we were happy to find out that Decker would be laid to rest alongside his best buddy and pasture mate, Sage. They were inseparable in life. Now they will be buried together as well. Decker was laid to rest at Pine Hill Pet and Horse Cemetery in Bowie, TX.
A few days later, I received a wonderful card from Dr Ables at the Wise County Animal Hospital. Included with the card was a story. I thought it summed up perfectly how many people react to the loss of an animal so I am including it here.
JUST A HORSE
From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a horse," or, "that's a lot of money for just a horse".
They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a horse." Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a horse".
Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a horse," but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a horse", and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a horse" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.
If you too, think its "just a horse", then you will probably understand phrases like "just a friend", "just a sunrise", or "just a promise".
"Just a horse" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. "Just a horse" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person. Because of "just a horse" I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly into the future.
So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a horse" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.
"Just a horse" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.
I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a horse" but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a woman".
~Anonymous
If tears could build a stairway,
and memories could build a lane,
I'd walk right up to heaven
and bring you home again....
Just this side of Heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
"When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There
are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food
and water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who had been ill and old are
restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember
them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing: they miss someone very special to them; who had
to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. The bright
eyes are intent; the eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to break away from the group, flying over the green
grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. YOU have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally
meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your
hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from
your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together......."
(~Anonymous)
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