More Life Lessons . . .

It has been an interesting week around our place and let me tell ya, I hope my next weeks ride is smoother!

This is a hard post to type and a hard one to read. Please know . . . we love our horses . . . they consume our time and heart . . .

We had a friend call us about a neighbor who was having a hard time feeding some animals, two horses and a cow w/2 calves. The neighbor just wanted someone who had the capability to feed the animals to take them. So on Thursday, I headed back to our old home place and met our friend, Chris who was going to help get these animals loaded. Now, Chris warned me that the animals were pretty poor and were going to need tender care . . . I thought . . . I've seen skinny horses, I purchased two and now they look great . . . what I found when I got there was one skinny horse and one severely malnourished horse . . . you know, the kind you see in the cowpoke cartoons . . . this horse was way more then what I was expecting. I had to take a step back, have a cry and determine if he was even going to make the long ride home.

We decided to give it a try, we were his only hope. I was standing in the lot guiding the trailer back and I felt something warm on my neck, I turned around and "Prince" the malnourished horse was standing there . . . gooh coming down from his eyes, hooves six inches long and curling from a severe founder, and hip bones protruding . . . I looked in his eyes, put my arms around his neck and hugged him. It was like he was asking me . . . Are you going to help me? I told him that he was God's creature and I would do my best to make him comfortable and ease his pain.

We loaded the skinny horse first and then loaded "Prince". We still had a cow and two calves to load and that was an adventure for another post - yes - I have bruises from a 300 lb. calf slamming me into the trailer - no I am not a seasoned Cowhand able to throw one down - it took four of us - 1 man, 2 women, and 1 man-child. Anyway - back to the horses . . .

I had them in the trailer and the skinny horse was taking advantage of the confined quarters and was picking on "Prince". This is animal nature and so I did what I could to settle them down. We made the hour drive home, got everyone unloaded into the corral and they quickly started munching the weeds, that's how hungry they were. But then "Prince" found a corner and just settled in. Having an empty tummy for so long and then something in it was probably not comfortable on top of the fact that he was in pain from the founder - which is a hoof condition basically caused by too much protein consumption - a stroke in the hoof basically and then severe trauma after that.

We fell in love with him because he was so poor and represented so much . . . suffering. The next morning, we fed them a little more hay . . . introducing food slowly . . . both horses were eating fine together. I then heard the high pitched squeal of a horse whinney when horses are fighting and ran out the door to find Prince down, having slipped in some mud, and the other horse in intense fight mode. Please understand . . .this is animal nature . . . all animals whether cat, dog, rabbit or horse will eliminate the diseased and sick from their herd or pack and that is what this horse was proceeding to do. Of course, me and the B's had a freak out - Bo and I ran out into the corral and were able to back this horse off, Bailey brought the whip and I proceeded to whip him off and back from where Prince was down . . . Kansas has had torrential rain in the last two weeks and we are knee deep in mud in our driest places, we couldn't get Prince up and he'd taken a licken. We protected him, got the other horse tied and I knew I had to make a decision. He was hurt, we couldn't get him up and he was sooo sick.

In a matter of two days we fell in love with this pathetic, helpless horse and grieve our loss. If by any chance God allows animals into heaven, I am sure Prince is in His barn, resting comfortably. One of my husband's co-workers mentioned that at least Prince had one last caring hand before his death.

In a sense, we are just as pathetic and helpless as Prince and all we have to do is ask Jesus for help! I am only human, I can only do so much but the Lord God is so much more powerful then anything we can imagine! He is waiting to help; all you have to do is ask.

I wouldn't trade this life lesson; I will learn from it; I will feel it for quite a while.

Blessings and many life lessons to come,

P.