ESS REMEMBERS
"Somewhere...somewhere in time's own space
There must be some sweet pastured place
Where creeks sing on and tall trees grow
Some Paradise where horses go.
For by the love that guides my pen
I know great horses live again."
-Stanley Harrison
Remembering Perla
Perla, above, pictured with her big friend William. Sadly, Perla's life here on earth came to an end in November, 2010. Our sympathies to her Rita and all Perla's human family and friends, who loved her so much. As we learned, sometimes all the love in the world just isn't enough to save those that we care about. Perla will be remembered for the lovely little horse that she was. We know that she is in a better place now, healthy and happy once again.
Saying Goodbye to Buck
We lost Buck on June 12, 2009 to colic. It was very sudden and unexpected. I did not expect to lose Buck like that. He was healthy, happy and had not shown any signs of digestive problems. The past several months probably were the happiest of his life.
I had adopted Buck back in 2004 after he had been sadly neglected and was starving. He was a chronic cribber and even after he regained his weight and health, the cribbing continued to be a problem. That is, until this past winter. Buck had always been at the bottom of the pecking order with other horses, picked on and chased around, which didn't help his cribbing issues. But this past winter I turned him out with Ginger, Soxy and Baylee. Buck decided he was the boss of his new herd, and he firmly let the others know. The mares fell in love with him. Baylee, the two year old gelding, found a male friend that he could relate to. Buck would play with Baylee, and they were like two young colts, nipping, rearing, chasing each other, mock fighting. Buck was a happy, happy horse. He looked years younger by springtime.
Sometimes I'd look out in the early dawn and see Buck herding Baylee, circling him, turning him, trotting smoothly and fluidly, gracefully doing little pirouttes as he and Baylee frolicked. It was like they were dancing, and it was so incredibly beautiful.
And then I noticed something else one day. Buck was no longer cribbing. After all these years, Buck's life was complete, with his very own special horse family, a life that he truly enjoyed and that met all of his needs.
Buck had been the main inspiration behind the formation of ESS. I knew when I moved to Taos that I wanted to do a horse rescue. This had been a long-time dream of mine. It took getting a horse like Buck to motivate me to taking the first step towards making the dream a reality.
A few nights after Buck died, when the sun came out after a late afternoon shower there was a beautiful huge double rainbow that arched from mountain to mountain. It reminded me of the photo I once took of Buck and Bindy, under the arch of a big rainbow.
Buck was a very special horse. I used to say Buck was a fine horse with a big, big heart. Even when I first got him, when all his bones were showing, he had a sparkle in his eye and an optimistic, bright outlook. He made a lot of friends through ESS and there is an empty feeling here without him. But I still feel that his spirit, his beautiful presence, is out there, somewhere, over the rainbows.
