Iggy + Charlie Best Friends Forever

Longtime readers might remember that Charlie had a .... surly streak when I first got him. Maybe inherited from the infamous stallions in his pedigree, or maybe just deeply rooted defense mechanisms after a lengthy and sometimes difficult career on the track.

Either way, Charlie's early days with me were punctuated by occasionally aggressive behaviors, legitimately necessitating a warning sign posted on his stall at our first boarding barn.  

Iggy + Charlie, best friends forever, in this life and the next <3

That first barn was a lovely place with excellent horse people, tho we eventually moved on anyway to be closer to our trainers at the barn where Charlie lives now. And, obviously, I made sure *everybody* involved in day to day care at the new place understood to watch their backs when in Charlie's stall, and do whatever was necessary to stay safe if they felt threatened. 

twinsies twinning

Honest-to-god, they all thought I was a straight up lunatic. They could not understand what I was going on about. Because Charlie.... just... it's hard to describe, but he just completely let his guard down at this new barn. He was settled. Relaxed. Gentle. Trusting. 

buddy system #activated

Again, I really don't think anything was wrong with the previous boarding barn. But something was definitely RIGHT about Charlie's new home. And.... I figured out that secret sauce pretty freakin quickly: Charlie's new best friend, Iggy. 

literally attached at the hip

Iggy and Charlie have been inseparable since day 1. Well, not "inseparable" in any sort of obnoxious herd bound sort of way.... But just.... Always together. Always close. Always on the exact same wavelength together.

"you swat my flies and i'll swat yours!" -- charlie, 100%

It's funny bc it's a big herd, in a big field. And they all get along together. But.... Charlie and Iggy always and without fail stuck together --- no matter what the rest of the herd was doing haha....

link to hilarious video of herd shenanigans, 

featuring killjoys Iggy + Charlie *not participating, kthxbai*

and on the opposite end of the spectrum: 

link to a video of Iggy + Charlie tandem napping

And of course, the whole bromance was made all the more adorable by Iggy + Charlie being complete twins in basically every dimension except height. 

"i've got your back, igs!" -- charlie

Just a couple of basic bay boy TBs, with a left hind sock, star and snip <3

both so expressive about the flies

I've always really loved this aspect of Charlie's life -- that he has such happy and fulfilling society haha. Call it anthropomorphizing if you want. But it's just oddly reassuring, ya know?

even wore their hair the same <3

Iggy became suddenly very very sick two weeks ago, tho. It's not entirely clear what happened -- except that it had likely been brewing undetected for possibly a long time. 

rollin with his homies

Somehow, some way, Iggy had managed to brew an enormous infection somewhere in the cavities inside his head -- with various abscess pockets branching out from the source.  

snacking together too

The current hypothesis, tho of course we'll never really know, is that one of these pockets was aggravated and possibly started draining internally after a routine teeth float. 

chatting with the neighbors at the watercooler 

And the illness progressed so so quickly. Ugh, poor Iggy. There was just so much swelling around his head, he began to have difficulty breathing, and pretty soon the pockets of infection were draining through his sinuses. Obviously, he was referred to hospital. 

snoozin together too, obviously

Once admitted, he underwent a few emergency procedures -- first to open his airway and facilitate breathing. Then various exploratory incisions to locate and drain the primary infection source. 

oh Iggy, Charlie's overgrown foal <3 <3 

Amazingly, although it seemed touch-and-go for a couple days, the hospital staff were able to finally get to the source, and Iggy began responding positively to the antibiotics. 

 

your friends already miss you, buddy

But.... the swelling had caused significant nerve damage. Once they tried reintroducing water and food, it became clear that Iggy could not swallow. His owner made the only possible choice, and let him go. 

<3

It's all just so heartbreaking -- it happened so fast, but then he was getting better! But... No. Iggy, you were gone too soon, and your friends miss you terribly <3