Tank’s for the memories

‘Built like a brick shithouse’ dies at 32

There are a few reasons the residents of Benedictine Living Community-Owatonna clicked so well with Monte Mowry’s horse, Tank.

He was sturdy, yet gentle.

He was tolerant and quiet.

He was, in a word, old.

“Every horse year is the equivalent of three human years,” Mowry said, which means that Tank was nearly 96 years old when he died March 17.

“I owned him longer than I thought I did,” Mowry said. “I thought he was 11 when I bought him, but he was only nine. He was in our family – or I owned him, I guess – for 23 years, and that’s longer than most horses live.”

Tank was just shy of his 32^nd birthday when he had what Mowry called “some little episodes of laying down, and not being able to get up. He looked good; he just couldn’t get up. The worst part was, he laid down in the barn in the horse stall, and you can’t get any machinery around to help boost him up or anything.”

A vet was called and the decision was made.

“We put him down on St. Paddy’s Day,” Mowry said of the horse formally known as Dakota Clabber.

“I have the sheet that was hanging on his stall when I bought him at the horse sale – I call it his window sticker – and they had it all written up,” Mowry said. It provided his name, his age and, as it turned out, his nickname.

Tank has often been described as being built “like a brick shithouse,” his owner said. “He was just stout, so Tank was his nickname. I could’ve changed it, but I thought that fit him, because of his build.

“He wasn’t a super-big horse, like a draft horse, but he was stocky,” Mowry said.

Tank was a hard worker, too. More than a decade ago, Monte and Nancy Mowry started “Ride for the Brand,” designed to give children with special needs the opportunity to participate in activities that will teach them all about horses – and more.

Tank and his stable mates helped riders improve balance, coordination, self-esteem and confidence for kids with Down Syndrome, autism, multiple sclerosis and emotional problems.

That program branched out to other groups, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Minnesota; ALC students; Operation 23 to 0, a veterans’ group; and more.

Then it was really time for Tank to shine.

“During COVID, Monte called me and said, ‘I’d like to bring my horse out and walk around your building, so that the residents that are sitting by their windows can enjoy Tank’s company,’” remembered Lisa Kern, the executive director at Benedictine Living Community-Owatonna.

“He knew that when we first shut down, many residents were staying in their rooms, not going to the dining room or anything,” she said of the people living at the senior health care facility.

While Kern loved the idea, Casey Bakewell wasn’t so sure. She’s the wellness director and volunteer coordinator at Benedictine.

“Honestly, when Lisa first told me about it, I was like, ‘eh, OK.’ I didn’t think it was going to be as big a deal as it was,” Bakewell admitted.

But, she said, the residents “just loved it, and I think the horse really brought so many of them back to their childhood, and with COVID, there was no better time. Their faces would just light up, and they’d wave through the window, ask what his name was, how old he was…”

Though Bakewell didn’t grow up around animals, “so many of the resident did; they grew up around horses, around farming, so it just really lit up their day. It was wonderful,” she said. “And we’d tell them, ‘he’s older than you!’”

When COVID lifted, Tank stood patiently as residents petted him, rubbed and kissed his nose, and hugged him.

Tank eventually made his way to several Downtown Thursday events, and visited other health care centers.

“He is kind of special to a lot of people in this county,” Mowry said. “He liked all the attention everybody gave him.”

Despite the attention, though, “he lived a horse’s life,” Mowry said. “He wasn’t put in the barn every night and pampered … but I was buying some pretty spendy feed for him, probably the last four years, because he didn’t have a tooth in his head. He couldn’t chew hay or anything, so I was buying a special, soft feed that he could eat pretty easily.”

Given his age, “we all knew this was coming for Tank,” Bakewell said. “We are always sad when we lose those around us that are special, and Tank was kind of … he was one with our residents, you know? He was at the end of his journey, as well, and I think they really connected.”

His work didn’t go unnoticed elsewhere, either: Tank was inducted into the Steele County Equine Hall of Fame, thanks to his good deeds.

He left big horseshoes to fill.

“I will never find another Tank,” Mowry said, “but I’m going to try to find something like him. There’s only going to be one Tank. He was just … he was just a gentleman, all the way around.”

Mowry’s horses will continue to visit Benedictine and other facilities, something Bakewell hopes inspires other people.

“If you have gifts and talents that you think the Benedictine residents would enjoy, please contact us,” she said. “We never know what will spark something until we see it and try it.”

Like Mowry and Tank?

“Yes,” Bakewell said. “I think it’s so important to speak to this idea that Monte came up with, and his thoughtfulness, during a tough time. He came up with this wonderful idea and did what he could, and then he continued to do it, even when times got better.”

Kern agreed.

“He chose to act, and that’s a blessing,” she said. “Tank was absolutely a lucky horse, that he came under the care of Monte, who truly treats animals with respect.

“Tank was lucky to find Monte, and we were lucky that they both found us.”