The Reality of Owning Horses: Challenges and Heartbreak

Owning horses is a dream come true for many of us. The connection, the freedom, the partnership—it’s what we live for. But alongside the beauty of these incredible animals comes the reality of challenges, unexpected setbacks, and heartbreak.

Lately, we’ve been dealing with a tough situation with our 2-year-old colt. In an unfortunate accident, he fractured his jaw. The diagnosis was devastating, and after consulting with our vet, we decided on a conservative treatment approach. This means months of a strict mash diet, pain management, and constant monitoring.

For anyone who has had to nurse a horse through an injury, you know how emotionally and physically draining it can be. The worry never stops—Will he heal correctly? Is he in pain? Am I doing everything right? Horses are tough, but they also rely on us to make the best decisions for their care, even when those decisions aren’t easy.

Feeding time has become a carefully orchestrated routine. Instead of his usual hay and grain, he now eats a soupy mash multiple times a day. It’s a slow process, but he’s adapting. Watching him try to figure out how to eat with a broken jaw is both heartbreaking and inspiring—he’s handling it with far more patience than I ever could.

This experience has been a reminder of just how fragile horses can be. No matter how careful we are, accidents happen. And when they do, all we can do is step up, make the best decisions for our horses, and support them through recovery.

For now, we take it one day at a time. Healing is a slow process, and patience is key. If there’s anything I’ve learned from this, it’s that horse ownership is full of unexpected challenges. But at the end of the day, we do it because we love them. And we’ll do whatever it takes to see them through the tough times, just like they do for us.

February 3rd, 2025