Carly Milbank’s Luca
I was 8 ½ months pregnant and had just stopped riding Luca. I decided it was a nice evening and that he could stay out overnight, he loved the field and it seemed pointless to bring him in when he wasn’t being ridden. I went to the yard with a lightweight, he came to me and I gave him a scratch and put his rug on when he suddenly spooked at a pheasant in the hedge. He jumped sideways and ran forward and landed awkwardly on his foreleg. He stumbled and when he regained his balance I saw the most awful sight of my life. Luca’s forelimb from below the knee had completely dislocated from the rest of his leg. The bone was exposed, but there was little blood. I screamed so loudly and grabbed hold of him so that he could not run off and panic. I yelled for the girls at the yard to call a vet, which they did instantly. I remember screaming hysterically, I knew what had happened was fatal, my heart was broken and I just wished I could have taken the pain away from him whilst we waited for the vet.

When the vet arrived he told me there was nothing he could do and that the kindest thing was to put him to sleep. I couldn’t stay with Luca whilst he was put to sleep, it was too painful for me and I was almost due to give birth. I gave him a massive kiss and cuddle before the vet injected him. I told him how good he had been to me and that I loved him more than anything in the world.

Once Luca was peacefully asleep I stayed with him for a while and I knew I was never going to get over losing him. My partner and mother came to say goodbye to him, we were all heartbroken and felt like we had been robbed of not only a super horse but our best friend.

I wanted the best for Luca and decided that I wanted him cremated. Friends recommended Resting Horses. It was very late, but when I called Resting Horses they were very sorry to hear what had happened and tried hard to understand what I was saying through my tears. Matt from Resting Horses was very compassionate and said he could collect Luca immediately, even though it was past 10 o clock at night. I decided I would prefer it if he was collected in the morning so that I could say a final farewell.

Matt arrived on time the following morning and was very considerate to how I was feeling and offered to take care of everything once I was ready. I kissed Luca goodbye and left Matt to deal with everything. I chose an individual cremation so that I could keep all of Luca’s ashes.

Two days after taking Luca, Matt called to say that his ashes were ready for collection. I cried the whole way to the crematorium with the image of what happened still raw in my mind. Matt and his staff were so kind, they all said how sorry they were and I managed to tell them what had happened. They were all deeply saddened; they understood how much he meant to me. Matt even gave me Luca’s polished shoes and showed me the beautiful wooden box that contained Luca’s ashes with a brass nameplate on. I now have his ashes in our house and soon they will be housed in our new stable block. He will take pride of place looking down on all the horses, to keep an eye on them.

Nothing can bring Luca back or make sense of why he was taken from me so suddenly but Matt and Resting Horses made the worse time of my life a little easier and for this I thank them immensely.

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