Dear Jumbo,
I was shocked and saddened to hear of your passing. I am sorry you had to suffer the way you did, I wish you did not have to go through all of that pain before you decided to leave us and head for the bridge. I wish you lots of fun in your new field up in heaven, I hope you have all the space you can dream of to run, lots of luscious grass to eat, tons of carrots, and lots of hay. I am go glad I got to meet you and share some of my life with you. It was a joy taking care of you when you were injured when Blue bit you. You were the most gorgeous horse I have ever met, and you were amazing out in the fields running until your heart was content. I only wish you weren't so mean to the other horses, but I understand, you need to gain your spot as alpha in the herd. Jumbo, I wish you didn't leave us so soon, and I wish I got to ride you. Rest In Peace, my friend, I love you.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I went up to the horse camp I volunteer at, to work with the horses, only to hear that Jumbo (Lippizaner), the biggest most beautiful horse the camp has ever owned died. My heart sank and I had a lump in my throat, even though I was not as attached to him as I am with Jack and Spirit. I tried so hard not to cry. I was in shock, I thought my friend was joking and kept saying "no he's not", trying to deny it, but sadly, it was true. He got injured this previous summer when Blue (mustang) attacked him and punctured his neck with his teeth. It was my job to clean out his wound daily, thorough that, I bonded with him and gained a little bit of his trust. Jumbo was simply stunning to watch while riding, he was so massive and huge one stride would cover 20 feet, his HUGE white tail and mane flowing in the wind- I have never seen such beauty. I had to stop my horse to watch Jumbo and Heather running in the field, it was too gorgeous. Jumbo was HUGE, his name fit him well. He was so huge I could never reach the poll (top of head) to put on his halter, and I could practically look under his belly w/o having to bend over much. He was only at camp for a couple of months, he died way to soon, and suffered terribly- making his passing even more sad- knowing that he suffered before his death.Jumbo died from strangles. He got the disease thanks to a careless farrier who transmitted the bacteria by contaminated tools. If I ever find out who this s.o.b is he/she will be sorry they ever met me. Lord knows how many other horses will get strangles thanks to this farriers careless.
Grr, pisses me off. Sorry for the foul language, I'm just too upset. Strangles is an extremely contagious and serious infection of the respiratory system. Strangles causes severe inflammation of the mucous glands, I guess you could call them, in the head and throat, and causes extensive swelling, rupturing of their lymph nodes, and thick creamy mucus. Jumbo couldn't breathe. Jim (camp director) let all the horses out to pasture, Jumbo walked out of the corral, stopped, fell over, and died.
Here is a picture of beautiful Jumbo. He looks kinda bad in the picture, he has that injury on his neck and dirt all over him. I groomed him real good and cleaned his wound after that picture was taken. He's the most graceful horse I have ever worked around. I was supposed to work with him (ride him) this summer.....
Rest In Peace, Gorgeous Giant
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