You read about Skidboot here a few weeks back when I wrote about his lymphoma diagnosis and the chemo that followed. Things took a turn for Skidboot and his owner, Lauri Cash, just a few days after my post appeared.
It was the final day of March.
The day prior, Lauri had a near-perfect cutting lesson on Skidboot. When she fed him that night and the next morning, Skidboot appeared fine. In the afternoon, Lauri found him in his stall shaking and clearly in distress. It could only be something related to the cancer, Lauri reasoned.
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She and loyal friend Heidi managed to get the sweating, hard-breathing Skidboot into the horse trailer. It would be the red gelding’s final ride to the vet hospital at OSU.
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It turned out a tumor had been growing all the while on Skidboot’s spleen. Now it had ruptured, causing internal bleeding. Skidboot was telling everyone: It’s time for me to go.
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Skidboot was put down early the night of April Fool’s Day eve.
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In the midst of her catapulting emotions, Lauri was clear that she wanted a necropsy to be performed for teaching purposes..
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The vet students at OSU would discover the unexpected: a 90-pound tumor attached to Skidboot’s spleen and liver.
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When he’d cut cows the day prior, there was nary a clue what Skidboot harbored inside. It was Skidboot’s secret to the end. He was a gentleman to the end, too.
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“What needs to happen is there needs to be a way to diagnose this disease,” says Lauri. Her hope is that whatever OSU vet students learn from Skidboot may help move things in that direction.
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Holding back tears a few days after Skidboot’s death, Lauri tells me, “He had such a huge heart, and that’s what I loved about him all along.”
This story about a brave horse and a brave
woman made me cry. Tears of sadness for both yet with hope that others may learn
And prevent cancer in the future.
My sincere condolences to Lauri. The loss of a beloved animal is devastating. Animals teach us so much and Skidboot was true to his nature to the end, valiant horse and teacher. RIP
My heart goes out to Lauri and the pain she is feeling at losing a beautiful horse like Skidboot. I read your last post on him Janet, and he seemed to be doing so well, so this came as a shock to me.
He gave his all to Lauri, and was a gentleman to the end.
I hope that the vet students at OSU can learn from this, so that this disease can be detected earlier.
Losing someone you love is the worst thing that can happen. Blessing to you Lauri and just know your beloved horse is still with you and will always be. Truly.
Thank you to all for your kind words. It has been difficult to look out at a eerily empty barn. I know one day it will be filled with the sounds and smell of another horse, but it’s going to take some time to find an animal that can fill Skidboot’s shoes. He was truly an amazing animal.