Meet Topaz

Topaz

Arrived 21st March 2012
Passed 26th February 2015

On the 26th February 2015 Calan Horse Sanctuary was faced with the situation we always knew would one day eventuate. Sadly, that day came.

Our much loved 27 year-old Topaz, had been struggling for sometime; our Vet informed us that his kidneys were shutting down and in- spite of our every effort to boost his diet and give his body every chance, all was to no avail. We found him down on the morning of the 26th in pain. The Vet was two hours away, so as the founder of the Sanctuary, I had the duty of care to step-up and help him leave us as peacefully as possible. With my son and two of my loyal helpers, we then respectfully laid him at rest.

For five years I had the privilege and pleasure of caring for my 27-year-old equine friend. With his coppery colored hair and the thinning yet dignified stature of an old soldier who had been through the wars, Topaz was the top brass amongst the herd at Calan Horse Sanctuary in Western Australia. In his presence, both horse and human gave him the respect befitting his age and position. I had heard in his ‘hey day’ he had been outstanding under the saddle with a number of successes as a competition horse, yet he seemed to have drawn the short straw during the majority of his life. Although his last owner never mistreated him, information has trickled through to that Topaz had a real tough life, and the comments to me when they knew I was caring for him at CHS were “Is he still alive?” We found to our dismay that he had arrived with eleven loose teeth. Thanks to skilful dentistry and daily mulching of his hay Topaz was eventually able to eat in a reasonable manner.

With much love and caring, old Topaz’s health and spirits lifted. He gracefully took his place as the Patriarch, protected by several middle-aged herd members. Visitors gravitated toward and felt empathy for him because of the toll time had taken on his body and soul. The amazing thing however is the past had never affected his lovely heart. He never bit, kicked or caused damage. When approaching him with his rug he always stopped and quietly waited for it to be fitted and it was possible for us to trim his hooves with no halter and lead rope. Unlike some of our equine family, he had no qualms in sharing his water trough and when a new horse joined us at C.H.S., Topaz was always the first to befriend the new arrival and would stay close until they acclimatized to their new surroundings. He was soft and gentle we loved him and went out of our way to make his twilight years enjoyable. We renamed him Topaz, because he was a real gem. Still, I question whether I have done ‘enough’?

As the first sliver of golden orange sun rises over the gums breaking the silence of night, when a rainbow appears after a storm, as the Winter wind appears as a whinnie or thundering hoofbeats, I continue to feel his presence. Maybe it’s a shadow on the horizon, a flick of a tail just beyond the sheds, a brush of soft muzzle against my cheek, it would never be enough. It is what makes the bond between Topaz and I so special and irreplaceable.

We are behoved to say, ‘If humans had given Topaz the same respect he showed, he might still be out there grazing with his ‘friends’.