How does a six year old go from being the most ecstatic little girl in the world to the saddest little girl in the world in just one week? By having her greatest dream fulfilled and then having it ripped away from her by the hand of fate.

My granddaughter, Lexi, loves horses. She’s just like I was at her age. She eats, sleeps, and breathes anything equine. When a friend of a friend had to get rid of their pony because of a recent move, I purchased it for $50 and gave it to Lexi last Sunday at her sixth birthday party.

I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such happiness in a child. She just couldn’t believe she had a pony of her very own. Well, actually, Snickers wasn’t a pony. He was a miniature horse. He was a pretty little thing, with a perfect body, straight legs, big brown eyes, a bright sorrel coat, and a long, thick flaxen mane and tail.

Her dad delivered him to the party just last Sunday. Lexi and her parents live in town, so the plan was to take Snickers to the other grandparents’ house after the event was over. They live in a rural area about fifteen miles away and have a small pasture. Lexi has a large fenced-in back yard where the pony spent the day Sunday being ridden by party goers, getting brushed and groomed, being fed apples, and just receiving a lot of love.

When the party was over and it was time for Snickers to be carried to his new home, Lexi cried and begged to let Snick spend the night in her yard. Her parents consented. The next afternoon, Lexi’s dad, Jade, took the pony to his parents’ house. Jade’s brother, Drew, would take care of Snickers during the week, and Lexi would visit her horse on the weekends.

Everything was going great until Friday morning, when Jade stopped by my house to tell me Snickers had colic. My car is out of commission, so I called Drew to ask about the pony. After he described the symptoms, I was sure it wasn’t colic. It sounded more like a snake bite to me, and I knew that area was literally “crawling” in rattlesnakes. I called our vet, and he made the trip to see the pony as soon as he could.

After lunch, the vet phoned me. He said it wasn’t a snake bite. He thought Snickers had eaten a toxic plant, so he gave the little guy something for pain and another injection to help with the toxins. We were hopeful that Snickers would be up and around in time for Lexi’s Sunday visit.

For the rest of Friday and all day Saturday, Drew and I were on the phone together frequently. The pony wasn’t any worse on Saturday, but he wasn’t any better, either. He would drink a little water, but he refused to get up. He’d try, but his hind legs were paralyzed. He was also having difficulty breathing, and he was sweating profusely, just as he had been on Friday.

When I talked to Drew on Sunday morning, which was just today, he told me Snickers was worse. He was having convulsive-like tremors and was beating his head on the ground. He had already punished his tiny head so badly that it was broken and bloody. He was obviously in extreme pain. We thought it was probably best to put him down, but we decided to wait until Drew’s dad, Bobby, got there to assess the horse.

Bobby arrived about noon, and by that time, Snickers was even worse. Bob agreed that the pony should be put down, so the deed was done. None of us could stand the thought of the poor creature suffering so. We dreaded telling Lexi, of course.

Snicker's perfect little body was buried in a hole lined with hay. We're making a marker for his grave.

Lexi’s mom, Shannon, told Lexi about Snickers. As we had expected, Lexi was inconsolable. She had gotten to spend only a few precious hours with her dream pony. How does one explain the cruelties of life to a six year old? I feel like this is all my fault. If I had never bought the pony, Lexi wouldn’t have to endure all this pain, and neither would the pony. I promised to buy her another one as soon as we could find a suitable candidate.

By the way, Drew and Jade found the snake bite on Snickers on Sunday morning. It was on his leg. It was too late, however, for antivenin. I’m surprised and disappointed with my vet. He’s always taken good care of my horses, but he missed the ball with this incident – big time. Of course, I’ll be second guessing myself for years about whether I should have just gone with my gut feeling instead of listening to the horse doctor.

Anyone know of a good pony for sale in Georgia?