N-Star-R Justa Joy ~ April 23, 1979 - November 9, 2004

Today I lost my beloved Joy. At 25 years old, she had been in very good health and the leader of her herd despite a touch of arthritis in her front shoulders.

This morning, however, I found her down and unable to rise. I did manage to help her up but it was apparent she had lost partial control of her hindquarters. Within an hour, she was back down again and having body tremors. I knew it was time for me to make that dreaded final decision and I summoned the vet to come out to the farm and confirm my suspicion.

When the vet arrived, Joy had begun to have facial tremors. The vet was sure that this was a neurological condition most likely caused by an illness like West Nile especially with the facial twitching. The effects can come on this quickly. Although all my horses are vaccinated, it it's never 100% guarantee.

Treatment for this sort of condition would have involved being stall kept, lots of medication and most likely hung in a sling until the horse could stand on its own if ever. Full recovery would still be in doubt. I don't have stalls so she would have had to stay in the clinic. I decided not to put Joy through this. Part of my heart was ripped out as agreed with the vet that having her put down was the kindest thing for this horse.

Joy laid still with her head in my lap while the vet administered the drugs. There were no dramatics and she didn't fight the effects of the shot. I held her head as she simply went to sleep and stopped breathing. It was hard as I watched a very important part of my childhood slip away. I grew up on, and with that horse for the past 22+ years and she helped me through some very tough times in my life.

I will forever remember galloping across fields, swimming in rivers, local races, cross-country jumping, playing in the snow, being a high school mascot and all the other things we used to do together. She was also the shoulder I cried on during those tough and confusing teenage years. Oh if that horse could talk :o)

She is buried in her pasture where she spent her retirement years loafing and raising foals. I still have 4 of her offspring here so her legacy will continue through Sunday, Ranger, Jack and Lady. The owners of her other foals,Hart Bar & Jill, have been notified.