“Heaven gained the most amazing, sweetest, goofiest, loving angel that was on this planet,” says owner Lexie Beeler of Knoxville, Tennessee. Beeler lost her beloved horse, True Rumors (Twinkie) due to a rare disorder known as vaccine induced purpura.
The well-known youth horse was euthanized on Wednesday, May 14 due to developing laminitis from the steroids he was taking to try and counteract the allergic reaction he had to the strangles vaccine. He was given the vaccine in March right before the March Madness show in Ohio where he started breaking out in hives and his legs started swelling.
“His personality was the best,” seventeen year-old Beeler recalls about her partner in crime. “He was the laziest horse ever and would grunt whenever I would try to get him to do anything. He would always stick his tongue out with his ears forward especially when there were twizzlers and animal crackers involved.”
Beeler’s mother, Jacquie Litton says that it has been an emotionally and mentally challenging few months watching over Twinkie while he received veterinary care at Rood & Riddle in Kentucky hoping he would recover.
“Unfortunately, the vets told us that it was unlikely that he could come back and recover from his condition,” Litton states. “He was a part of our family and he will be greatly missed.”
The eight year-old sorrel gelding was by Dress Western and out of the famous western pleasure mare, Radical Rumors. Twinkie was bred by Jane Kimmel and shown by Darcy Reeve in his early futurity years.
Beeler had owned True Rumors from his three year-old year on and placed third at the Congress last year in the Novice Youth 14-18 Western Riding. Beeler says that she was proud of this accomplishment because they had their best go ever and only placed behind two AQHA World Champions. The duo also competed in the horsemanship, western pleasure, and showmanship. They amassed over 350 points in the youth division while Twinkie accumulated nearly 500 points in his career–all divisions combined. This team also earned their AQHA Championship and four superiors.
“It is a very hard day for me,” Beeler told GoHorseShow on Wednesday evening. “But to know my best friend is out of pain and in a better place watching down on me makes me feel better.”
