Tami Hoag's Grand Prix horse Coco Chanel has been put down following irrecoverable injuries after a rehabilitation accident in New Jersey on June 12, 2007. The mare injured herself in a rehab accident and was paralyzed.
She could not be treated and, unfortunately, had to be put down on June 13, 2007.
The Rhinelander mare Coco Chanel (by Circus) was brought to Grand Prix by the British rider Joanna Fisher who sold the mare to Tami Hoag in 2005. Hoag describes the Rheinlander mare as an angel. “She’s the sweetest horse I’ve ever known," Tami said. "She believes everyone in the world loves her, and she loves them back. She had the most wonderful, quirky personality, like a horse from a children’s story.”
Tami issued the following statement about the passing of her horse:
It is with the heaviest of hearts that I write this letter. Late in the day on June 13th my beautiful, precious mare Coco Chanel was humanely euthanized at the Mid-Atlantic Equine Center in Ringoes, New Jersey. On the day previous she sustained a devasting spinal cord injury in a freak accident at a rehab facility where I had sent her for physical therapy for a minor tendon injury.
The staff at the facility acted immediately and appropriately. A vet from Mid-Atlantic (one of the best equine clinics on the east coast) arrived within twenty minutes of the incident. Coco was carefully transported the short distance to the clinic, where she received the best possible care by a team of veterinarians led by Dr. Patty Doyle, widely recognized by her peers as one of the top people in equine medicine.
Every effort was made to save Coco. All options were exhausted. We consulted with US team vet, Tim Ober, and with Coco's primary vet, Dr. John Lockamy of West Palm Beach, Florida. In the course of 24 hours of around the clock care, Coco was examined several times by a top neurological diagnostitian. In the end, despite all our efforts, there was simply and tragically nothing that could be done except to end her ordeal.
Through it all, Coco was, as always, the epitome of a lady. She clearly knew we were all trying our best to save her, and she cooperated and tolerated it all with grace and dignity. She passed away quietly with her head in my arms, surrounded by people who loved her, including our dear friend and mentor, Betsy Steiner, who helped find Coco for me in Germany just two years ago.
I can't begin to express the void left in my soul by having her torn away so suddenly and far too soon. Nor can I express the terrible frustration and sense of helplessness at not having been able to save her by sheer dint of will. There is nothing I wouldn't have done for her. There is nothing I wouldn't give up to have her back. She was an extraordinary individual, and I was so blessed to have had her in my life for much too short a time.
Just 13, Coco was only just coming into her own as a Grand Prix horse. Her future would have been bright and limitless. The irony is bitter that we lost her on the first day of Gladstone, where, if not for the minor injury that sidelined her in May, she would probably have been competing in the USEF championships.
After the passing of Barbaro this spring, I heard one of his owners say that grief is the price we pay for love. Even knowing how terrible this grief is and will be for months to come, I would not trade one moment of the love of and for my dear and precious Coco.
My hope is that she is in a better place, unencumbered by the limitations of form, and that she is at peace, and that one day we will meet again. In the meantime, I will miss her every day of my life.
--Tami