Obituary Aura
The last hands that stroked her were the gentlest
A few weeks ago, Aura, a Saxon warmblood, closed her eyes forever.
Aura was looking for a new forever home at a time when all the horse stalls at Gut Aiderbichl were occupied. An animal welfare organization in Munich contacted Gut Aiderbichl and asked them to take Aura on. At the time, she was destined for an international slaughter transport. But fate had other plans. We didn't know much about Aura's background, we could only guess what this faithful horse's soul must have gone through.
Back then, Gut Aiderbichl was not as big an institution as it is today with over 30 home stables. Aura was to be lucky. Michael Aufhauser thought back and forth and he couldn't get Aura's history out of his head. Space was created and Aura became an Aiderbichler 14 years ago.
The mare took a long time to build up trust in her grooms. Aura was also suspicious of the Aiderbichler staff and was sometimes reluctant to be haltered. She would have preferred a life without people, but unfortunately that was not possible.
The mare was getting on in years and we realized that life at the Begegnungshof in Henndorf was too busy for her. So the team decided to move Aura to the so-called A-Stable, our retirement stable for horses. Her 26 years were making themselves felt and she was to be given everything that was good for her.
Aura made many friends among her fellow horses in the A stable, she enjoyed the wide pastures, the sun and her relatively free life - everything seemed good and loving.
A few weeks ago, the animal keepers noticed that Aura was in pain and that colic was building up. Now Aura let the humans come to her
She accepted going for a walk when she was suffering from colic. She allowed herself to be touched, it was as if a switch had flipped. She seemed to realize that there were people there who wanted to help her and she accepted it.
The vet who was called in examined Aura and she was given medication, but this did not relieve the pain. We immediately took Aura to the equine clinic. Aura's condition had deteriorated to such an extent that the efforts made on her behalf were unsuccessful, the battle for her survival was lost and there was absolutely no hope of recovery.
The animals must not suffer and so we decided as a team to let Aura cross the Rainbow Bridge. Aura's eyes closed forever and covered with all our love for her, we let her go.
Goodbye, dear Aura. You were a special horse in the large herd of horses at Gut Aiderbichl. Your life's light has gone out, but in our hearts you will always be our Aura.
"Are you afraid of death," the little prince asked the rose. To which she replied, "But no. I have lived, I have blossomed and used my powers as much as I could. And love, given away a thousand times, returns to the one who gave it. So I will wait for the new life and blossom without fear and despair".
~Antoine de Saint Exupéry
