We sadly said "Good Bye" to Max on Friday night. At nearly 27 years of age, he finally succumbed to the effects of the arthiritis which has troubled him recently.
He was a sprightly teenager when, with his half-brother Mr Ritz, he joined our 'family' just over 11 years ago. The German Warmbloods had been carriage driving all their lives and had competed at major events in the UK and France.
When he developed his passion for carriage driving (one of the reasons for our move to Lincolnshire) the Boss purchased them as "School Masters". And they certainly fulfilled their part of the bargain! Between the pair of them they taught us all we needed to know, patiently putting up with all our whimsical mistakes and gently nudging us in the right direction, correctly interpreting (sometimes re-interpreting) our instructions so they ended up where The Boss wanted them to go in numerous marathon driving events and giving us a lot of fun throughout many years. Max was always the sensible, reliable one of the pair: not without spirit, he'd toss his head and paw the ground when he got impatient or excited but it would never occur to him to nip or barge his human companions (unlike Ritz!).
His favourite past-time was to stand at his window and gaze out across the fields or up at the night sky - just what he saw we'll never know. Even on the most freezing of cold nights, his was always the last head to be staring out and which had to be pushed gently back in so the window could be shut against the frost, rain and snow.
Whilst he was Ritz's closest companion throughout their lives, he was Rocco's Best Friend and the Leader of their herd.
Thank you Max for what you taught us all and for the joy you gave. You will be much missed.
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