An 18-year-old horse named Trojan was euthanized in the Pierce College Equestrian Center yesterday after being diagnosed with gastrointestinal problems.
An Amish Carriage Horse, Trojan was one of 18 horses ridden by students for instructional purposes during equestrian classes.
Although his owner took Trojan and the rest of the horses to the Sierra Nevada Mountains for a couple months every year, he lived on the Pierce campus for most of his life.
“Trojan was the the first horse that I rode here. For two years, he’s pretty much been the only horse that I’ve ridden,” said Helene Zinn. “This is just really hard.”
Wednesday morning, Trojan was seen laying down and in pain.
Michael Clark, doctor of veterinary medicine, was called to attend him.
Later in the afternoon, Siobhan Donnelly, a student in the equestrian department, noted that Trojan was continually rolling back and forth and called the veterinarian for a second time.
“I was concerned for this horse,” said Donnelly. “I did it with no authority, but I did it because I feel like this horse is laying here dying.”
Trojan died at approximately 3:10 p.m.
According to Clark, he was suffering from colic, but a full report on his cause of death will be done within a week.
