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Gypsy ~ 1994 |
In 1988, before I had purchased her, Gypsy delivered Amusemint, a beautiful black liver Chestnut
by Windhover Enchantmint.
We bred Gypsy in 1993,
and again in 1994 to CAL Midnight Enchanter.
The first was a gorgeous liver chestnut colt - Mitakola Gypsy's
Moonbeam. "Beamer" as we called him, was followed by a lovely bay
filly named Mitakola Sioux Zanna,
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Terrie
"myself" & Gypsy
1994.
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We had planned to
breed Gypsy to our stallion Shadow, Mitakola
Midnight Special in 2004. So as planned, she was pasture bred in June, and eighteen days later when Dr.
Mende came to perform the Ultrasound ... Surprise...
Gypsy was already five months in
foal.
~ I recalled then, that in January, Shadow had gotten out of
his paddock and was standing in the isle waiting to go back into his stall
when I arrived at the barn to feed. Mellie
and Gypsy were quietly grazing in the pasture behind the barn. I had never
imagined that either of them would be in season during winter.
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GYPSY, 5 months in foal.
The three photos above were taken on June 17, 2004 by Kathleen
Florent.
They were the last photos taken of Gypsy.
Thank you, Kathy.
Gypsy was my first Morgan, and the founding mare of Gypsy Haven... a grand
Lady, and a wonderful broodmare. We shall not forget her.
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~From the very moment that we learned of Gypsy's pregnancy, she was
already at high risk. She was placed on Regumate and
antibiotics, and though every measure and precaution had been
taken to ensure the safety of both her and the foal... we soon learned that it
was not to be.
~In September, after hurricane Frances had made landfall just south of
Sebastian, FL., I made plans to travel to Florida to help my parents
clean up the aftermath of the storm. Before I left, I had noticed a considerable
amount of a thick, milky discharge in Gypsy's stall and suspected that she may have been trying to abort
her foal. I called Dr. Mende, and after a
lengthy evaluation, she was kind enough to offer to trailer Gypsy to her
clinic for further
observation.
~Dr. Mende soon learned that
Gypsy was suffering from
Hydropsy amnii, a rare and serious condition that is usually associated
with sheep and cows. After several lengthy
discussions on the phone, we both agreed that for Gypsy's health and
safety, we had no option but to
stop administering the Regumate and allow Gypsy to abort her foal.
~I had spoken with Dr. Mende several times after my arrival in
Florida. And again, the day before Hurricane Jeanne made her landfall. At
that time, Gypsy appeared to be doing well.
~However, on September 26th, Gypsy began suffering from a severe case of colic, which we
now believe was a secondary symptom to the hydropsy amnii.
~Unable to reach me by phone, Dr. Mende spoke with my husband Bruce, then
placed a call to New Bolton Center. She was advised that surgery would not
be an an option for Gypsy... And where
was I... in the north eye wall of Hurricane Jeanne with sustained winds of 120mph,
and no communication with the outside world.
~Regretfully, the following morning of September 27th, my husband
Bruce and Dr. Mende made the decision to have Gypsy euthanized. Though
it was a tough call for them, it was the right one.
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