Farewell, Ulysses: A Life Well-Loved

It is with the saddest of hearts that we have to announce the passing of our beloved boy, Ulysses. He was such a huge part of our lives for so long that it almost seems surreal to imagine a world without such an amazing soul.

We rescued Ulysses in 2012 from the Riverside Animal Shelter- he had been dumped by someone in the riverbed, and thankfully was picked up by animal control before he starved or was hit by a car. He had been severely abused by charros, and was neurological, and so the shelter had scheduled to put him down the following day. We were there to pick up another horse, and so we made the decision to bring Ulysses along with us, too. If you haven’t already, you can read Ulysses’ story here.

Ulysses’ physical and emotional trauma was extensive- he had scars all across his body, and internally he had pinched nerves across his neck that created his neurological issues. This meant that he not only could never be ridden, but the damage was so severe that he could not stand on three feet safely, meaning that he could not have his feet trimmed.

Our vet at the time told us that Ulysses wouldn’t be able to be fully rehabilitated- there was just only so much we could do. He told us to just focus on giving him as many good days as we could. When we could no longer keep Ulysses safe and comfortable- if his neurological damage increased; if he was no longer able to run around in the arena and self-trim his feet; if he could no longer stay healthy and happy- then we would need to put him down. We researched every supplement and feed option we could offer to improve his quality of life.

It could be a few days, or weeks; a few months, or a few years, the vet said. Everyday was an extra day he was able to live.

A few days to a few years.

We were able to provide him with over 13 years.

An Amazingly Special Horse

We named Ulysses after the Greek character Odysseus (Ulysses is the Latinized name) who came home after a traumatic journey; his traveling was at an end, and he was safe at home.

There was always something special about Ulysses- and everyone seemed to inherently know it. He had several volunteers who loved to work with him; our veteran volunteers seemed to instinctively gravitate towards him.

Ulysses’ story resonated with so many people; his story was featured in the local newspaper after he was rescued. He was even sponsored by the Santa Margarita Catholic School Equestrian team and after they read the article written about him in the OC Register. The Animal Rescue Site wrote an article and created a short video about his rescue story. He also became one of our poster horses for the many abuses and cruelties behind charro riding.

Ulysses was always a character and never allowed us to take him for granted- he would sometimes allow us to groom him endlessly, and sometimes he would have a time limit, and that was it- he wouldn’t want us to work with him any longer that day. He was quite honest in his reactions and we learned quickly just to listen to him rather than try to talk him out of his current mood!

Ulysses’ favorite time of day was any moment he was eating. He loved eating! Whether it was grain, or hay, or pellets- he didn’t just enjoy- he savored his food! Because of his neurological issues most of the food would end up all over the ground, but that didn’t stop Ulysses from chewing with his mouth open, loving every moment.

The only time we did have to argue a bit with Ulysses was when we were trying to get him onto the trailer to evacuate for the Airport Fire last year. We got him on the trailer to safety, but getting him back home was yet another challenge! Three different trailers later, we finally were able to get him in by backing him in!

An Infection and its Aftermath

Ultimately it was an older infection that ultimately caused Ulysses’ untimely end. In 2022, Ulysses had a severe infection, possibly by a spider bite, that almost killed him then. Thankfully he was able to pull through, but the resulting damage from the infection caused scarring of the lymph nodes. Unfortunately, this opened up the potential for cellulitis, which occurred multiple times over the past few years. Any small nick or cut on his right leg made him at risk, and while we did our best to remain diligent, we believe it was a small superficial cut at the bulb of his foot that we think caused the latest bout of cellulitis.

We have dealt with him going through and recovering from cellulitis that we were hopeful that this would be just yet another short bout and he would be back to normal again in a short time. The vet was helping to manage the infection with multiple antibiotics and Ulysses seemed comfortable. Although much of the swelling started to go down, however, we noticed that there was a lot of fluid that was seeping through his skin to the bandage, which meant that his skin was beginning to break down. Before long, we realized that his skin was becoming necrotic, even with the addition of a stronger antibiotic. Essentially, he just had one bout of cellulitis too many- his body just could not recover.

The realization that we had to let our incredible boy go; the amazing horse who had been through so much and who had rallied against all odds, was almost inconceivable. We had been so close to having to make the difficult call so many times, only to have him miraculously recover, made Ulysses seem almost invincible.

Saying Goodbye to a Friend

Several of Ulysses’ favorite volunteers came that day to say goodbye, and he was given so many carrots. He was not in any pain, and he enjoyed the attention from all his friends. He ate his grain with the same gusto he always did- sloppily and enjoying every bite. He managed to wipe his mouth on several of us that afternoon.

Even in his last moments, Ulysses was sweet and loving. We gave him some extra pellets to keep him calm as the vet worked on him, and walked him up to the area in front of the tie rail one last time. We were very purposeful and made sure that everything was done to ensure that he felt safe and would not experience any fear or uncertainty. Ulysses passed surrounded by love and gratitude- the same qualities he embodied.

For over 13 years we were honored with the ability to give him the gift of life, but in return he gave us the gift for appreciating life.