Buddy was a beautiful Appaloosa gelding, approx. 16 years old. Buddy came to me April 2025. He was approx. 200 pounds underweight, scars of being whipped and a scar across his nose from wearing too small of a halter. Both eyes had an infection in them, and he was blind in his left eye from an old injury to his eye that caused early cataract. I put my arms around his neck and whispered, “I will take care of you, and I will never ride you. I did not need to; I had 2 other horses to ride. I also whispered to Buddy that I will always love him. He rested his head on my shoulder and sighed, like thank you for helping me. From then on Buddy would rest his head on my shoulder, close his eyes, and just let me love him. I had taken Buddy to my awesome vet; we got his eye infections under control and Buddy was starting to feel like a horse again. He made friends with 1 of my mares, Snickers aka Thunder Chicken. My other mare, School Bus, and Buddy tolerated each other but were not buds like him and Thunder Chicken. I loved Buddy every day and gained all his trust. Within 5 months, Buddy gained 200 pounds, he really needed and had his pride back. I noticed some changes in Buddy's good eye, his Right one. Buddy was so attached to Thunder Chicken, I noticed that if she were not up close to him, he would freak out and get really anxious. He ran into the fence, and he started walking into the wall in his stall. Buddy could hear Thunder Chicken, but he could not see her clearly and that freaked him out and he would get a little hard to control. I would talk to him to calm him down, sometimes it would work, mostly not. It broke my heart. So, in December 2025, Buddy had another vet appointment to see where we were with his good eye. Buddy was losing vision in his right eye, much quicker than expected. By New Years Day 2026, Buddy had mostly lost his vision in his right eye. On January 2, 2026, I had to make a choice of what was best for Buddy only. With his anxiousness and freaking out over not seeing my mares, he became harmful to himself and could be harmful to me trying to control him. I could not turn him out anymore with my 2 girls, sadly he could hurt himself or them not meaning to. Buddy was put to rest to run free and wild in Heaven.