Siri

When Siri, a cute little halfinger cross pony, came to me through Amazing Grace Equine she was underweight, her feet were overdue, and she was not too fond of people. Her coat, being two inches long because of her Cushing’s Disease, was coming out in clumps. But with months of determination, hard work, and help from all the right people, Siri became healthy and sound again! Slowly, I gained her trust and we built a bond that I can’t even begin to explain. We trusted each other, sometimes we thought we hated each other, but more than anything we loved each other. Siri taught me so much, not just about horses but about life in general.

Siri could go from being perfect to being rude to being sweet all in the matter of two minutes. She always kept me on my toes. If she wasn’t getting her leg stuck over fences, she was forgetting to drink water and dehydrating herself. But no matter how much worry or anger this horse caused me, the one thing I could always count on is she could always make me laugh. Between her manly morning knickers to her hilarious attitude to her “crazy” canter, she would always have me laughing before the day was done.

For most of the two and a half years I owned Siri, she stayed healthy. But old age is inevitable for all creatures, especially 33 year old horses. Siri spent out her last months being spoiled rotten as a pasture pet with her new best friends. I took special care to make sure Siri lived nothing but a happy, healthy life and that she did. As the summer grew closer, I knew Siri would not be able to endure another brutally hot summer. She started to lose a lot of weight, even though she was consuming more calories from extra hay, grain, and grass. Her old body just could not absorb the nutrients it needed to survive anymore. So I made the hard decision to put my beloved mare to sleep on May 1st, 2013. But Siri took matters into her own hands, as usual.

I had noticed during the day on Friday, April 19th that Siri was laying down a lot in her paddock. It was a sunny day, so I assumed that she was just enjoying the sun as the rest of the horses were. She was still acting completely herself, going crazy for peppermints and trotting up to the barn for dinner time. But Siri’s old body had just had enough. Friday night, after the barn had been closed for the evening, Siri must have gone down in her stall and was not able to get back up. She was found laying on her side covered in sweat the next morning, and her failed attempts to get up were quite evident. I immediately rushed to the barn after getting the call from my barn owner. As I walked into the barn, I called out Siri’s name as I normally do and from the ground she whinnied her familiar whinny right back to me, like nothing was wrong, like she was relieved to hear my voice. I called the vet to come straight down. I sat with her head in my lap for almost an hour as we waited. She got spoiled with peppermints and took them excitedly, as I’m sure she was mad she missed breakfast. I sat just patting her for an hour, making sure she was comfortable and that she knew she wasn’t alone. When the vet arrived, he agreed that the only option we had was to put her down. Siri knew it was time. She put her head back in my lap and pasted peacefully while being told how loved she really was.

I will never find a horse that was more perfect than Siri. We weren’t amazing show jumpers and we certainly weren’t the best looking team but Siri and I had a bond that could never be put into words and will never be replaced. Siri was the center of my world and the one thing I knew I could count on no matter what. She gave me the best two and a half years of my life and I know I have my guardian angel watching over me forever. Rest in Piece Siri, you will never be forgotten