Equine Medicine & Surgery

Who Are The Ancients?

Danny

Born in 1981
Owned by Aspen Brinton

Danny was found in a field in Idaho when he was 4-years-old, and as he nears his 30th birthday, his life has spanned residency in six states: Idaho, Wyoming, California, Arizona, Maryland and now Colorado.

During the prime of his life he was the quintessential Pony Club horse and became a well-trained cow pony, gymkhana mount, and trail horse. When his owner went off to graduate school in Washington, D.C., Danny went along, taking up residence in the fields of Potomac horse country for six years.

During his second year in Maryland, Danny colicked severely for the first time. While he recovered without surgery that time, about six months later he went into surgery for another severe colic. Given his age at the time (early-20s), everyone was pessimistic about the potential outcome. It turned out to be a simple large intestine kink, easily rectified because it was caught early enough. According to the veterinarians, Danny "trusted people a lot more than most horses," as he more or less let the surgical team lift him to his feet after he woke up. He would, indeed, live in the house with people if he could.

When his owner took an overseas teaching job in 2006, Danny was relocated to Fort Collins to be fully retired. He took command of the yard, has to be chased away from eating the petunias, and more recently was given several goats to boss around. In 2007, at age 26, he colicked severely again. During post-op he began to go downhill. His owner caught the first plane back to Colorado, instructing the veterinarians at CSU to keep him alive until she could get there to say goodbye. For the next 48 hours she sat in his stall waiting for the inevitable, massaging his neck, and telling the veterinarians to try every possible remedy. When he began to recover, even the veterinarians thought it was a miracle, against all of their predictions.

Today, Danny still enjoys his status as "miracle pony," wanders the yard at will, paws the side of his stall begging for cookies at the appearance of his well-trained human service staff, and walks over the top of you asking for a belly rub when you go into his stall. After both colic surgeries he seemed to get a new lease on life, and became that much more feisty, opinionated, and energetic. Each day is a gift, and he seems to know that.

Help us celebrate!

Tell us the stories of your horse's own old soul, submit story and picture to: comments4equinehospital@colostate.edu