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Leo, one of the retired horses that we took on after the death of a friend, died today, aged 25.

It's not incredibly surprising - we've been treating multiple hoof abscesses throughout the two years that we've had care of him, most recently with increasing quantities of antibiotics, but eventually they became too much for him to be able to stand for even short periods.

He was a very sweet horse, with a range of health issues that never quelled his spirit or humour. (Ever heard a horse laugh at you for falling over on your arse in the mud?)

His original human was kind, and gave him a long life of rather cossetted leisure when it became obvious that he wasn't a very suitable riding horse.

Leo was charming and affectionate and he put his faith in me to soak his hooves, irrigate wounds, give him injections and do my ham-handed best at following any number of veterinary instructions in a freezing field.

His two horse-friends will doubtless miss him, but have had a chance to say goodbye, and I think it was as obvious to them as to any of us that he was just absolutely over all of his hardships.

I'm away from my main computer and don't have a really functional phone, so finding decent photos of him is a challenge, but we achieved a selfie together early last spring, and I had that to hand.