Dapango - memorial

      A wonderful horse, whose life was full of sadness but also happiness, passed away. I’m writing about it that it won’t be forgotten. Dapango was a son of a famous German stallion named Revlon Boy who embodied beauty and speed.

                                                                       Revlon Boy; source: Internet

Dapango’s mother won the races in the Warsaw turf. With such distinguished parents, it became a racehorse, from which a lot was expected. However, not every horse is suited for horse racing. It can come from a great blood line, be well-built but important is also one more thing - the psyche. However, nobody pays attention to it. There are horses that simply run forward and like competing but there are also horses that feel terrible stress. I assume that this could be Dapango’s case. It fell ill with a disease called "monthly blindness". This affliction is manifested by blindness attacks that might end after a few minutes, hours, days until the horse goes blind. As a result, appear serious eye disease resulting in progressive blindness (similar to glaucoma). The glaucoma changes are operable but during the monthly blindness disease it will not work. After observing the first attack of the monthly blindness, a horse should be withdrawn from sport and send to recreation. If the animal is in good condition, the disease could be cured. Dapango had four attacks during his "career" at the races. Then was made decision to draw back the horse from the races and assigned to... transport to a slaughterhouse. I do not want to judge anyone here. These are the rules governing this sport. There is huge money and racing horses are only a tool for earning it. 

     Dapango had luck. A person appeared who bought the horse, saving from death in the slaughterhouse. However, the buyer could not afford to keep a horse, so Dapango had to earn its own room and board working in recreation. There would be nothing wrong with that, if had not unhumanised peoples’ rapacity appeared again. The horse passed from a stable to a stable. In most of them it was overworked. In the last, where our paths met, it was extremely difficult. The horse worked several hours a day and sometimes was so tired that stumbled over its own legs. At the withers the skin was barked to flesh. The horse reacted anxiously to raising a hand, which meant it was probably beaten. Dapango was the great horse. When I mounted it, I knew that I did not want to ride on any one.

I didn’t earn much at the time but I had to save him at all costs. Behind the owners of the stable, I found this person who saved Dapango’s life and buyback it. The salesperson's condition was that I would not let hurt the horse and if it had come such a moment that Dapango would lose its sight because of the disease, it would have a guarantee of “retirement” with me. For me it was obvious. I bought Dapango to give him a chance for better life. I did it, even though my friend - the former director of the Polish horse show - claimed that it was not the horse for me and it might kill me. Fact, I was not a good rider and I was riding on the visually impaired "lightning fast" horse that was unpredictable. I had several accidents. A few times Dapango scared me a lot, for example when in an open space, on a meadow, suddenly started to race with the "wind". On the other hand, Dapango had to forgive me many mistakes that I made as a beginner. Over the years, we had a chance to get to know each other like the proverbial two bald mares. It was enough when I thought that I wanted to ride to a forest and the horse was heading in that direction.

      I found a great stable for Dapango, in which the horse could finally feel itself. For holidays it went to my parents’ farm, to Suwałki Region. Dapango revived. It gained self-confidence and calmed down. Appearance stopped to resemble a nag and became look like its great father.

      Finally, the day came: my horse lost its sight, despite all the possible actions we had taken with a vet. I felt guilty but if I hadn’t bought Dapango, probably it would have happened earlier and the horse ended in the slaughterhouse. It was necessary to hammered up a new level of agreement. Dapango had had to trust me newly. It trusted. Boldly put its hooves when I led it. The horse developed the other senses to such an extent that sometimes we wondered it really could not see because reacted like an able-bodied horse. Dapango could go on trips on meadows near the stable. In spite of its age, the horse emanated with strong energy... it had the will of existing.

      Dapango lived 26 years, of which over 10 it did not see. It was the wonderful, sensitive, very warm horse. It hasn’t already reached me that Dapango – my love horse - was gone. I think that its spirit is still walking on the meadows near the stable. When I talk how tragic and unjust fate touched the horse in its life, friends upraise that reversely - it had a lot of luck. Although fate had experienced it, Dapango lived much longer than other representatives of its breed and it came across people who met on its values, not the monetary but the real one.

With words of love,

your friend forever.