foaled 8/3/77, liver chestnut, 15.2 h
(Lippitt Rhodes x Moreeda Rebecca)
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| How does one start an obituary to a mare who was never one of our grand
champions but who probably represented the Green Mountain Stock descendants
more closely than any of the others? Appropiately named for the Greek godess
of wisdom, Athena was the intelligent, no nonsense, honest horse from her
foaling til her demise. Her breeding was almost solid Ashbrook, high
percentage and DL-free. A treasury of old blood, her ancestors represented
some of the first in the Midwest. Her sire, Lippitt Rhodes, was one of the
last colts sold at the dispirsal sales of the RL Knight farm, her dam ,of the
Moreeda breeding.
We bought Athena from Nancy Anderson just prior to her own death from cancer tho, at the time, the knowledge of these events had not unfolded. I had just gone to look and Athena sought me out and followed me for the farm tour which Nancy thought unusual. I took a copy of her pedigree home and went back for a second visit a couple of weeks later. Again, Athena was there at my side so I can't really say I choose her....she choose me. Perhaps she did see the future as her mystical name implied for the horses that remained at the farm as Nancy's illness progressed were sold to the slaughter house and Athena had chosen life. I promised Nancy I would never sell her and so Athena never had but two homes over her lifetime. For those that sought height and substance, sanity and squareness, her linage offered it all. As a group perhaps they were a little plainer in appearence. Many spent their lives as broodmares, not given the advantage of conditioning and training. And so it was that Motherhood came to Athena naturally. With every foal, she dropped weigh rapidly as she hung over her babies protectively. After lying down to give birth, we never saw her sleep til they were weaned, her foal always at her foot. Her first born was Eastbrook Queensryche by Rohan Paladin ( Nathan Ash x Ashlyn) as a sixteen year older. Two years later, she had Eastbrook Keziah Ash by Ryegate Jedediah (Indigo x Keziah). Her last foal four years ago was Eastbrook Woodbury Mouse by Mighty Mouse (L. Norman x R.Athena). Perhaps sensing this would be her last, she lavished him with all the maternal devotion she had left. Often we see a mare, lick or smell her foal after birth. Only with Athena did we see her literally wash her colt, as a cat licks her kitten everyday, like he would be going off to Sunday school, til he was weaned. Training-wise, Athena was dream. Rachael showed her in the second level training dressage class at the '93 CRLS where she took a second and we did show her one more year in 95 where she won her western class. For the most part, she liked the trails better. Her babies would pony at her side on their first outings into the real world. Most recently in her senior years, her duties were to babysit Eastbrook Dinah, a task she shared with our 31 year old gelding Ace. Sunday morning, we found her distressed and unable to bear weigh on her right foreleg and braced up against the wall for balance. Since she had been the first to run in the evening before, we didn't suspect trama. She had eaten her supper without difficulty and now could not move to get to her feeder, we suspected founder or stroke and called the vet. He loaded her with drugs and painkillers which took hold and she was able to eat tho not able to get off the wall for balance. He only finding was a big heart murmur which she had never had previously and the obvivious discomfort. We gave her Bute in the evening and the following morning and again called the vet. We were not controlling her pain. We unloaded the semiload of shavings out of Canada and waited for a second opinion from the neuro vet. Now she had not eaten and had laid down in her stall. With his arrival, she got her up and he examined her.....no founder or abscess, normal chemistries except for muscle enzyemes being elevated so we were left with a presumed diagnosis of a cerebral or cardiac event that resulted in a fall or embolus. With consideration to her age, discomfort and prognosis, we walked her outside, said our goodbyes and gave her the relief a faithful and good mare deserves for her years of patient and loving service. Please join us in celebrating her life and joy she gave us for the years we had her......Mary |
Raud & Mary Wilke W.360 S.3361 Hwy 67 Dousman, WI 53118 (262) 965-4830 |
