Roy - September 21, 2010

Roy in 2009

Roy is a handsome, large horse who has been at the rescue for about five years. He was a Carriage horse at Stone Mountain before he retired here with us.

Roy was scheduled to be euthanized the day Save the Horses picked him up. He was very thin and his owner thought there was no cure for for his condition. But, with loving care from rescue volunteers, he remained in good health until about 10 days ago. He seemed to have a mini mal seizure or, perhaps, a heart syncopne. During the episodes, Roy spins around until he eventually falls.


Dr. Marcella recently put him on steroids which seemed to control inflammation and help stabilize Roy, at least briefly. The hope was that we could eventually wean Roy from the steroids and place him on less problematic anti-inflammatory medication.

Spot on Roy's eye

Yesterday a spot appeared in his eye that was not there before. We are hoping blood work will show us the cause of the problem, but cancer or a brain tumor is suspected. Either of these conditions would be devastating. His age  (around 28 years) and condition make further testing and anesthesia dangerous for him. In the meantime, Roy is not improving and is slowly weakening. Watching him waste away is painful for all who love him.

On a personal note, I always enjoy seeing Roy on my Saturday mornings as a volunteer. Roy is always wandering around the rescue, free to roam at will. I would often see him stretched out in the pine shavings in the barn during the winter months. He looked like a giant dog settled into his bed of shavings; he practically dissolved in them since his coloring was so similar to that of the shavings. The sight of him there would always put a smile on my face. Although he is a huge horse, at least to me, a novice horse woman, he is definitely a gentle giant. It's such a joy to see him walking through the barn or out in the yard, making his rounds and supervising the staff. I hope that Roy can continue to make me smile on many more Saturday mornings.

All of us at the rescue are praying for Roy and his caregivers. We wait with grave anticipation for test results and decisions resulting from them.