Thursday evening - May 2002. This is the last photo taken of Nicki, three days before she died. Caroline was riding out with a friend and luckily they had taken the camera with them. Nicki was fit and fast! No sign of anything wrong with her. Then on Saturday morning, she seemed lethargic. She had left her breakfast and was reluctant even to walk out of her stall. The vet came and treated her for colic but it didn't improve. The next morning she was sweating and had worsened. The vet suspected grass sickness and immediately phoned the hospital in Edinburgh to ask if she could be admitted.I did not want to put her through the journey but Caroline pleaded that she be given a chance. At noon, I loaded her onto the trailer and as it pulled away, I knew it would be the last time I saw her. The livery yard was very busy that day as there was a dressage competition taking place. Many people were saying kind things and trying to keep me positive. However, I just wanted to go home. I spent most of the afternoon sitting in the field thinking. It was a beautiful warm sunny day. The birds were singing, the grass was punctuated by wild flowers, and I knew that two hundred miles away, our pony was dying.
The phone call came at 7.00pm to say that she had gone.
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