Losing Shane by Bettie Jensen Last Sunday I lost the love of my life. Not a person but a gelding named Shane. It all started in 1980 at the Show Of Champions at the Equestrian Center. In the Open Western Pleasure Class was the most beautiful moving horse I had ever seen. Not knowing who was riding him I asked around and George Garner told me the rider and owner was Paul Scruggs of Cold Water Mississippi. When the class was over I went to Paul and asked him about breeding my mare Shanie Otoe to his stallion whose name was Buddy Man Jack. He said for me to come down to his place and see Buddy at home. Pete Petrowski drove me down to Pauls And I Decided Then That I Would Breed In March 1981. Shanie Was A Big Black Mare And A Great Mover. Little Did I Know That Buddy Man Jack Did Not Like Black Mares And Paul Had To Have Her Artifically Bred. Well, in February 1982 Shanie Produced a perfect little bay colt with just a star. He was so perfect. He had little ears and a perfect head. Everything went well for a month and then Shanie coliced and died. We had to put the colt in a stall by himself until we could build a pen for him. Carroll Langston came over and dug 70 post holes so we could get the colt out of the stall and safe from the other horses. My husband Chris and son Corky build the pen that he grew up in. We had to feed him his milk in a bucket because he would not nurse a bottle. We learned to love him all the more. When he was a two year old I took him to George Garner for training. He was easy to train and I was riding him in just a few weeks. Shane was never ridden in AQHA but he was ridden in SASCA for several years. I won on him every SASCA show that year and for several years after. He was the best moving horse I ever had. When they started training the horses to short lope he was not in the league. He had a great lope but not the short type. It was hard to place on him after that. Through the years we have been on trail rides and been to a few shows. But mostly just staying here at home. Every 6 weeks we would go and have shoes put on at Don Williams in Gadsen, Tenn.I have loved him his whole life and it was a bad day last Sunday when I went to the barn to feed him his breakfast. He was standing in his stall sweating. He was not interested in eating. I called the vet and she came out in about 45 minutes. I walked him until she got there but it was no use. She oiled him and gave him a shot but nothing helped. We had to put him down at 4;00 Sunday evening. That was the hardiest thing I have ever had to do. I felt like the world had fallen on me. He was the love of my life for 25 years. I have a hard time going to the barn now to feed the other horse Chunky because when I open the door I expect to see Shane with his head over the stall door waiting for me to love on him. I feed Chunky and just go back to the house. I will never have another like Shanies Tuf Stuf.