FAREWELL OFFERINGS:
Paying Tribute to Our Equine Comrades ....
Saying goodbye to your horse for the last time is a very difficult thing to do. There are no words that adequately describe it. I remember the day my horse was scheduled to be euthanised. It was the first time that a now dear friend made her Federal Express delivery to my address. I'll never forget her smile as she approached my porch steps and asked me if I did barrels. She waved her hand out toward my horses in the sunny summer pasture. It was immediately obvious she was a horse person.
As I answered her my voice cracked and tears began to fall. "My mare is getting put down today." My horse had suffered for sometime with Cushing's disease and was displaying cancer-like symptoms. I'd been postponing the inevitable too long.
She quickly joined me in her own tears, sharing her story of the loss of a great equine companion she'd recently lost. So there we were, two strangers now bound by our love of these incredible animals who lay their hoof-prints on our hearts forever.
It's important for us to communicate our feelings with other friends and family - particular perhaps with other horse people - in order to work through the loss. Talking and writing "Farewell to a Comrade" helped me to let go.
As I answered her my voice cracked and tears began to fall. "My mare is getting put down today." My horse had suffered for sometime with Cushing's disease and was displaying cancer-like symptoms. I'd been postponing the inevitable too long.
She quickly joined me in her own tears, sharing her story of the loss of a great equine companion she'd recently lost. So there we were, two strangers now bound by our love of these incredible animals who lay their hoof-prints on our hearts forever.
It's important for us to communicate our feelings with other friends and family - particular perhaps with other horse people - in order to work through the loss. Talking and writing "Farewell to a Comrade" helped me to let go.
If you would like to post your memorium ...
You can post your thoughts and feelings for your lost equine companion right here at Horse of Course.
Go directly to the Contact Us page and fill out the form.
We will do our very best to post your submission.
You can also go to our Spurs Blog and/or Forum page(s) to tell us about your great equine companion as well.
Go directly to the Contact Us page and fill out the form.
We will do our very best to post your submission.
You can also go to our Spurs Blog and/or Forum page(s) to tell us about your great equine companion as well.
Farewell to a Comrade.
Today is the day the vet comes to “put down” my old mare. She’s the first horse I’ve ever owned. She’s the horse patient enough to allow me to learn how to care for horses. She’s the one who I never worried about running off with me, of bucking me off, of failing to take care of me. She’s the one who fulfilled the dream I had as a young girl.
I always pined for a horse of my own. I was the typical horse-lover who desperately wanted to feel horse hair, that wonderful horse smell, hear the soft nicker and the click of heavy hooves across the ground. It took many, many years for the dream to finally come true.
She came as a gift from a thoughtful step-daughter. She came unregistered. She came with a rough trot and a touch of arthritis. She came with a long history of working on ranches in Montana and Missouri - so I’m told. She came with memories she provided a young boy, now a man with children of his own, who rode her in timed local competitions. She had no string of ribbons and impressive blood-lines or trainers. She came to me with her experience. She came with humbleness. She gave the gift that “horse-people” feel with crystal-clear perception. Something perhaps only “horse-folk” understand.
I always pined for a horse of my own. I was the typical horse-lover who desperately wanted to feel horse hair, that wonderful horse smell, hear the soft nicker and the click of heavy hooves across the ground. It took many, many years for the dream to finally come true.
She came as a gift from a thoughtful step-daughter. She came unregistered. She came with a rough trot and a touch of arthritis. She came with a long history of working on ranches in Montana and Missouri - so I’m told. She came with memories she provided a young boy, now a man with children of his own, who rode her in timed local competitions. She had no string of ribbons and impressive blood-lines or trainers. She came to me with her experience. She came with humbleness. She gave the gift that “horse-people” feel with crystal-clear perception. Something perhaps only “horse-folk” understand.
Last night, after the barn chores were done,
I finally began my long goodbyes to her.
I brushed her and rubbed her shoulder through heavy, wet tears. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I wish you could let me know if this is okay with you.”
She will exist long after her now frail body has long been put to rest. Will she go on to pick-up a new body? I like to imagine her as a young filly clumsily galloping through a grassy meadow. I can hear the click of young, eager feet. I can feel her exhilaration and excitement at the experience of a new body that works and carries her flying across the earth.
I think of this and it eases the loss of her I will have. While she will continue she will no longer be here with me. I hope I’ve done well enough by her that she’ll continue on with her gentleness and care. I hope that she goes on to fulfill another horse-lover’s dream in another place and in another time.
May her days next time ‘round be filled with fresh, green grass, room to run, as few flies as possible and a heart that loves her as I have and as I always will.
Thank you, Cody, for the time you’ve shared with me.
- your grateful owner, Linda
She will exist long after her now frail body has long been put to rest. Will she go on to pick-up a new body? I like to imagine her as a young filly clumsily galloping through a grassy meadow. I can hear the click of young, eager feet. I can feel her exhilaration and excitement at the experience of a new body that works and carries her flying across the earth.
I think of this and it eases the loss of her I will have. While she will continue she will no longer be here with me. I hope I’ve done well enough by her that she’ll continue on with her gentleness and care. I hope that she goes on to fulfill another horse-lover’s dream in another place and in another time.
May her days next time ‘round be filled with fresh, green grass, room to run, as few flies as possible and a heart that loves her as I have and as I always will.
Thank you, Cody, for the time you’ve shared with me.
- your grateful owner, Linda
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"My treasures do not sparkle or glitter, they shine in the sun and neigh in the night."
– Gladdagh Gypsies of Galway
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– Gladdagh Gypsies of Galway
HOME Contact Us Links Privacy Policy
HITCHING POST Find Your Perfect Equine Match Photo Ops Buying A Horse
CORRAL Become A Better Rider Horse Training
HORSE SENSE General Store Hoofin’ It Vet Info
TACK Saddles-n-Such Bling Book Store Equine Art
SPURS Blog Your Thoughts Forum Polling Place
MANES Horse Tales Horsing Around Gaming Arena Farewell Offerings
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