|
Gypsy ~ 1994 |
Before I had purchased her, Gypsy
had been bred to Windhover Enchantmint in 1987. In 1988 she had deliver
Amusemint, a beautiful black liver Chestnut.
We bred her in 1993,
and again in 1994 to CAL Midnight Enchanter.
The first was a gorgeous liver chestnut colt named Mitakola Gypsy's
Moonbeam. "Beamer" as we called him, was followed by a lovely bay
filly named Mitakola Sioux Zanna,
|
|
Terrie
"myself" & Gypsy
1994.
|
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 out to perform the Ultrasound ... Surprise...
Gypsy was already five months in
foal.
~ I recalled then, that Shadow had gotten out of
his paddock over the winter, and when I had gone to the barn to feed up,
he was standing in the isle waiting to go back into his stall. Mellie
and Gypsy were quietly grazing in the pasture behind the barn. I had never
imagined with it being winter, that either of them would be in season.
|
|
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.
|
~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.
(where my parents live), I had made plans to returned to Florida to
help them with the clean-up. Before I left, I noticed a considerable
amount of discharge and suspected that Gypsy may have been trying to abort
her foal. I called Dr. Mende to come take a look, 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 I had arrived 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, she began suffering from a severe case of colic, which we
now believe was a secondary symptom to the hydropsy amnii.
~ Though Dr. Mende had called and had spoken with the Dr.s at New Bolton
Center, they had advised her that surgery was not an option... And where
was I... in the middle of Hurricane Jeanne with sustained winds of 120mph,
and could not be reached.
~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.
|
