Goodbye to Chacha
On June 17, 2011, our Chacha Indian Dancer sashayed out of our world. My ‘tough lady’ Chacha began to fail a week earlier, which I knew when I saw that she was barely eating her evening buckets, saw her ignore the grass in pasture, and realized she wasn’t drinking much or peeing. She ate almost only carrots for her last week of life. She dwindled fast. I wanted to wait until after our Open House, as she was a favorite of many of my supporters who wanted to say goodbye, but on Thursday night, she came to her stall with a swollen knee, clearly in great pain. I gave her a couple of bute and massaged her knee, but the next morning, it was clear that she’d found no relief and I couldn’t bear to see my graceful girl struggle to walk. With great respect and an aching heart, I sent our Chacha to dance on the clouds...
This elderly classic broomtail Appaloosa mare came to TGC on November 5, 2005. A local woman who didn’t want Chacha for her ranch because she was "too tall" told me of her plight and begged me to take her in. Dr. Zadick had seen her, and considered her one of the worst starvation cases he’d seen. When I went to see Chacha, I had to agree. Although she was delicately built, she was simply a walking skeleton. The people who owned her were simply morons, telling me in all seriousness that they thought she was anorexic. They also tried to blame the Indians of the reservation for Chacha’s condition - and then, in a shocking display of ineptitude, admitted they’d had her for eight years! No, in fact, their ignorance was almost Chacha’s undoing. She was in a pen with a hugely fat Donkey, and a 4 year old, also chubby, mustang mare. Each day, the people threw three flakes of alfalfa into the pen morning and night. Guess how much Chacha got? I can’t emphasize too much how important it is for some horses, and particularly older horses, to have time to themselves to eat their food.
Of course Chacha almost dragged me into the trailer - certainly smelling the snack I’d put in there for the ride home. Chacha always knew what she wanted, and needed, and had no trouble communicating those wants and needs to me, or anyone around. She had terrific manners on the ground, and was always far too frail for me to consider riding her. So, Chacha got her 6 years of heaven - having a herd, a boyfriend (Prophet), a rival (Topper - see below), and all the food she could eat, in comfort, every night.
Chacha before that location had lived on the reservation. It was clear she’d been a mother more than once, and I suspect, having seen her run, that perhaps her children are on the Appaloosa racing circuit (which I first became aware of when Allie came in to TGC). Many of you know I’m a fan of racing - despite the abuses of the race world, I do believe that many horses simply LOVE to run, and have competitive natures. (I just hate when horses who don’t love to run, and who are NOT competitive, are forced to run anyway). TGC has many off track thoroughbreds who thunder out any brisk morning as though let loose from the starting gate. How amazed was I, then, to watch the almost cartoonishly skinny Appaloosa mare, clearly in her final years of life, with hips so damaged you could feel the grind of bone on bone when she walked, LEADING the herd out, and making it look effortless! How desperately I wish now that I had a video of that girl on one of those runs, so you could share with me the breath stopping surprise, and delight, in watching her float over the ground, wispy mane and silly broomtail flying, right with horses bigger, younger, and theoretically more bred for it! For all her terrible coloring (I’m not a fan of the appy look, normally), and terrible hair (you call that a mane? A tail?, and forget about a forelock!), she was the very picture of grace in motion, skimming the earth like a bird in flight. I will never ever forget it - or her. She was the perfect illustration of the proverb that ‘looks aren’t everything’ because she truly was a Plain Jane who was transformed in motion.
O, that broomtail.... that mane.... that aching hip...
Chacha was very elderly - not just her teeth, but her arthritic and weakened hips gave us the clue, as you can’t develop that much damage in a year or two. And so, she was on my short list from the day she came in. But she made the most of her time here. She would have been our lead mare, I suspect, except for her disabilities. She wanted it enough, but knew her limitations. She put every new arrival in their place almost immediately, so she wouldn’t have to do it later after they recovered from their trip. And she even knew how to temper her reprimands ... when she was approached too closely by Brave, she lunged at him, stamping her feet (I believe she knew he couldn’t see and made noise so he’d get the message) and only pretending to bite. She was a smart mare.
She was good for the farrier even though it was hard for her to lift her hind feet; loved Laurie Henkel because Laurie knew just how to make her hip feel a little better, at least temporarily; took her wormer and fly masks without any fuss, and was polite to me always, although she loved to fool with me in a quiet understated way. Her favorite game was to be sure Prophet went in his stall; then mess with Topper a little; and then approach her own gate, only to walk off the minute I got it open for her. She didn’t want me to lead her in, it had to be HER idea, so we’d have a little ‘catch me if you can’ game, and she’d usually slip into her stall the minute I stopped insisting. It had to be HER idea! If I needed any other sign that her time was ending, it was the day I went to open her gate, and she carefully maneuvered herself right into her stall.... That was the last time she made me catch my breath ... from that moment forward, I was watching for the sign I knew she would give me ...
I suspect that after a week of not eating nearly enough, her weakness caused her to take a mis-step or even a tumble, and wrenched that knee. I wasn’t going to let her lay down, and be unable to get up, or bear even one more day of pain. My last gift to Chacha was a quick end. She was a classy lady, well behaved and loyal to her friends, and quietly appreciative of her life here. I watch the clouds, thinking to see her flying with them, light as them, free of the trials she experienced here. And I miss her ...
