Hi Dr. Jimmy -

It is with a very sad, and heavy heart that I announce the death of Rye, on August 24th, 2010.

Anita went down in the morning to feed, and was inside putting the food in the horses feeder. The horses looked fine and were wandering up to the barn. She heard some banging on the stall pipes, so she looked out of Rye’s inside window and saw him down in the entry way to his stall. She immediately went around to see what happened. He had for the past 30 year walked through the gate without incident, but on this occasion he went down and his front legs went over the bottom bar of the gate and his head was wedged between the swinging gate and the side of the pipe corral. It happened in an instant. Anita tried frantically to get him “unstuck” but the gates are firmly attached. Rye didn’t struggle and seemed calm, with his tongue hanging out. She went up to the house and got a pick axe the only heavy tool she could find, and notified her next door neighbor Kathy to call the fire department, (and her other neighbor, Ursina, who thought it was Anita in trouble) well anyway, She couldn’t get the gate off, but the fire department came, and dismantled the fence and got Rye out, but it was too late, he was dead.

We really think he probably had a heart attack and went down, or tripped and maybe broke his neck, which I guess is possible, but I prefer the latter of the two. Anyway, before I left on vacation I had called you in regards to his being trimmed and you had left a message saying you didn’t think he needed it. I’m sure your right…I called because my daughter and I had been riding and he had a bad stumble on the trail, which just gave me a bad feeling that I can’t explain, I even made her get off and walk him for a while until he seemed OK, then I put absorbine on him when we got back…that was August 9…I never seem to be able to go on vacation but what I get some kind of bad news when I get back…

Dream, cried that day for his friend, and I took him out on “the trail of tears” to look for Rye…that actually seemed to have comforted him a little. Then when I got back to the barn Anita and I watched him sniff all around for Rye where he had fallen, then when satisfied he went in and ate Rye’s breakfast. I took him out again last evening and he seems a little depressed but only called twice on the trail. He can talk to Jackson now and he is very loving to Anita.

I will dearly miss Rye. He was my buddy, and we definitely had a connection. I am truly grateful that he went quickly, and despite the traumatic exit didn’t seem to suffer. He had celebrated his 33 birthday on August 17.

Kathy Ryyth