I was looking out of an upstairs window earlier and saw that Poppy, one of the horses over the way, was down in the mud with Brenda, her 86 year old owner, standing over her. I went straight over and it was obvious that the horse was in a bad way. It broke my heart watching her trying to get up and falling back down again. I laid in the mud with my body across her neck to stop her trying to get up and did my best to comfort her, but her eyes were rolling and I knew it was the end for her.
It seemed like hours till the vet came (probably about 20 minutes) and, as Brenda was in bits, he asked me to hold her head down while he put her to sleep. I know next to nothing about horses, although I knew, at 28, this one had had a good innings. It was sad to see such a magnificent beast lying helpless and, once it was done, just covered in a tarpaulin till someone came to take her away.
Very sad.