Thanks for the replies. Just to clear things up….I’m not a horse person. She was my wife’s horse. Sinn Fein (the horse) was a one person horse…my wife’s. It took my wife 2 years to bond with her….then it was a real bond. Sinn Fein tolerated me (but I think she was wanting to bond with me too….maybe !). She was a very special horse. I’ve had to shoot and bury 2 in the last few years and although not being a horse person it was still kinda tough to do but necessary. This one I was hoping to get through Christmas before having to make the call….didn’t happen….wasn’t fair to her…especially with the really cold weather coming. We had a vet put her down Christmas Eve. My wife couldn’t be there for it. I had to position the deed to happen where I could park a tractor with utility trailer attached between house and barn area ( house is on a hill overlooking barn area) so that my wife could not see her lying dead in the field. Dead livestock pickup was gonna try to pickup today…..didn’t happen….no communication when it may. Roads are bad around here I suppose. Neighbor has a Cat 305 mini and offered it. May have to do it (bury) myself. Tough part is the water level is so high I can’t do it in a field. I do have an area on a side hill but ground is really mushy to get to area. If it gets to that point I won’t let her be here when I or if I have to take that route. In the meantime I’m having to care for our only remaining horse who is freaked out with her pasture mate suddenly disappearing. 3-4 times a day de-icing her water, feed and care. Not being a horse person I was surprised how her demise affected me. She was a good horse! My wife’s dad (he lived with us 4+ years) passed in June, I retired end of September, my wife had a 2.2lb ovarian cyst removed in October ( non cancerous but we didn’t know until 2 weeks after removal), 4 1/2’ of flood waters in the barn in mid November (what a mess that is) now a favorite horse down and a snow/deep freeze. I suppose if I keep plugging along taking care of priorities my new retirement will feel kinda good. There are those though that are in a worse predicament than me. I’m not whining, just taking a minute to unload! 🙂