Page 66 of Trickster King

I shook my head. “The vets are already in the barn, so if we do opt to euthanize him, we’ll do so after sedating him. Essentially, we’ll overdose him on the sedative so he won’t undergo any pain or distress. He’ll fall asleep. That’s why a lot of people say they’re putting their pets to sleep. The first stage is doing just that.”

The gelding wouldn’t wake up, but I didn’t need to explain that part of life and death to Eddie. He understood it just as well as anyone else.

“It’s not fair.”

His statement hurt. Life was rarely fair, especially for the abused. “I know. If I can give him a good life free of pain, I won’t have him euthanized. But the fracture is a problem. He also has several infections, and those are causing him pain.”

“Is it because there won’t be enough people to take care of him? I could help when I’m not in school.”

Yep. The boy was a chip off my block. I crawled out of the tent where Randy and Geoff waited with three horses. Accepting the inevitable, I said, “You may as well saddle Eddie’s horse. He’s coming with us.”

Randy sighed, and Geoff nodded, handed over the reins to Randy, and went to help get the horse ready for the ride back to the ranch.

“Could I help the horse, Dad?”

“Let’s see what the vet says about his prognosis. It could be the infections can’t be treated or the fracture is worse than we fear. Until we talk to them, we simply don’t know.”

“Is it about the money?”

I shook my head. “No, Eddie. It’s not about the money. It’s about him living a happy life, one without suffering. If we can’t mitigate his pain and prevent him from suffering, especially in the long-term, it’s better to let him go. Some fights a horse can’t win, and it’s our job to find out if this is a battle he can conquer. If he has low odds of survival and will heavily suffer while waiting for a miracle, it’s best for the horse to euthanize. It really depends on what we learn about him, his age, and his current condition.”

Randy came over, leading the horses, and crouched to be at Eddie’s level. “Your dad’s right, Eddie. This isn’t about us anymore. We all want to save these horses, but we have to do what is best for the gelding. Right now, his situation is pretty bleak. Your dad will bend over backwards to save a horse, but sometimes, we just can’t win the fight. When the vets say the odds are especially low, we need to look at the route of mercy for the horse.”

“But didn’t Morning Glory have a bad leg?”

I smiled at the mention of my mare. “We had to break her leg in several places to heal it, yes. But she was a healthy little filly, still growing. This helped her a lot. She had decent odds, which made it worth the chance. She didn’t have any infections, and she was still young enough her body had not finished developing. This meant the breaks could be addressed in a safe fashion. She wasn’t in a great deal of pain although she hated the sling.”

“Oh.”

The only way to learn how to handle the heartache of failure was to reach for the stars, miss, and fall back to the ground. I’d wanted to wait to teach Eddie the value of failure, but if the horse’s prognosis allowed, I would allow the boy to experience either tragedy or triumph.

Only time would tell.

“I’ll tell you what, Eddie. You said you would take over the gelding’s care if he has a tolerable diagnosis. I’m going to take you up on that offer. You’ll have to trust me about making the decision if he needs to be euthanized, but if he has a chance without suffering, then he will be your horse and your responsibility. I’ll talk to the school about having his treatments done there, and he can be a project for your schoolmates, who are learning about horse care. If he survives, he will be your animal and your responsibility. You will have to train him, gentle him, and work him through the symptoms of abuse. You will be spending most of your time in his stall, quite possibly for months to come. But that’s the price of what you want. Someone has to pick up his care, and that someone will need to be you.”

Eddie’s eyes widened. “You’ll let me try?”

“If you’re old enough to ask for the responsibility, you are old enough to accept the responsibility. You will be helped, of course. The condition still remains: if the prognosis is not good, then you will stay with him until he’s euthanized. I will discuss with the school about adjusting your classes and timing your classes so you can handle his feedings, which will need to be hourly for quite a while. The school’s vet will have to administer the basic medications. You will be expected to go to his appointments when he receives medical care. You will also be present when the farrier comes to work on his hooves.”

“I can do that.”

I believed him.

Eddie always gave his best no matter what.

I accepted his claim at face value with a nod. “Help Geoff saddle your horse.”

Careful to avoid the tent’s pegs and strings, the boy ran off to do as told. Rising to his feet, Randy asked, “Are you sure?”

“No, I’m really not, but I know if I don’t let him do this, I will be making a worse mistake with him. If the gelding dies, Eddie will learn a painful lesson about life and the responsibilities of caring for another living being. If the gelding lives, Eddie will walk away with something nobody can truly teach: compassion for another and a willingness to help. The worst thing I could do for him, right now, is to curtail that compassion. For his sake, I hope the gelding can be saved. But no matter what happens this morning, I go to sleep tonight knowing I did my best for him and that horse.”

After heaving yet another sigh, Randy said, “There’s really nothing harder than raising a child.”

There really wasn’t. “If this doesn’t work out, save me from my wife.”

“I’ll do my best, but if this doesn’t work out? We’re all going to need to be saved from your wife.”

Gina waited for us by the gelding’s stall, and she had a clipboard burdened with an inch thick stack of papers. I eyed the documentation destined to make a mess of my day. “That’s either good news or bad news, and I can’t tell which.”

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