Al Polston

Goodbye Cigar

Added 2025-09-23 23:09:37 +0000 UTC

Today our rescue horse Cigar was humanely euthanized. In my previous post I outlined his medical issues if you want to get up to date with the specifics.

Unfortunately his condition did not improve. While he was comfortable his best days were only behind him. His urine scalding even on antibiotics was fairly bad and would only get worse once the antibiotics would inevitably stop working. His weight dropped again the second the grass faded. No amount of feed, supplements, and hay was putting weight back on him. With winter arriving he would likely only suffer more as he would struggle to stay warm even with blankets and endless feed. Not to mention the possibility of frost bite with his incontinence keeping his skin wet at all times.

With my vets guidance I decided to let him go peacefully, on a good day, with endless treats and as much feed as he could eat. He laid down gently, grass still in his mouth, and slipped away to a pain free place. He's buried on my property, my last gift to him being he'd never be hauled off again to face uncertainty.