The day dawned like any other. I poured my coffee and thought of my list of "to dos". One of the first chores was to give my best mare, and long time friend, Reina H, her progesterone shot. She was about 55 days in foal for the first time in a long time. It had been a hard battle. The phone rang at 6:45 and it was Antonio............I braced because early morning calls from him usually harbor news of a new wound on a foal or other abnormality that occurred during the night. There was no way I could have been prepared for what I heard. In a quiet voice he asked "Puede venir por aca?" (Can you come here?).I said "Si, pero por que'?" In a very soft voice he hesitatingly said........"Reina esta' muerto." I was stunned - speechless. He had just told me that a piece of my heart had died. Those of you who knew Reina know that, when you met her, you had met a true Queen. She was gentle, kind, peaceful, and , above all else, loved all babies. She was currently sharing young filly raising duties with Spirit, my old Kiger mare, and her very best friend for many years.
Well, we will never know why she left us so early. She will be buried in the field with all her babies. She leaves behind one licensed breeding stallion, Sirringo, by Sir Donnerhall....and some wonderful daughters, two of whom I still have; Dream Rubina and Finale. They are precious anyway, but even more so now that there is no hope of ever having another Reina filly.
Reina was the last living animal who had made the trek from Texas to Florida with me back in 1998. The final link to my past .
Once again, goes to show us how fragile life is. You never know what the day will bring when you wake up......... up, down; good , bad; happy, sad. Today is definitely covered in sad.
