A Sad Day

Raffi and Khirla

Today was a very sad day at the ranch. Our Arabian horse, Khirla, was not improving despite the procedures and medications we've been trying for over a week now. We had to put her down today. It turned out she had a large intestinal stone and, at age 24, she was too old to undergo an operation to remove the stone.

We've had horses for many years and there have been other times we've had to have horses put down. It's never easy, but it's especially painful since Khirla has been part of our family for such a long time. When I bought my mare, Raffi, years ago, Khirla was just a 6-month-old filly at her side. We decided to buy both mare and foal and were never disappointed with either of them.

Khirla got her name, Khirla-Q, because of the way she held her tail when she ran -- raised up high and curled over her back. What a beauty. She looks like a brown horse here, but over time she turned "grey" like her mother.