Happy Ending for Tina

 Recently we had the privilege of looking after a 30 year old horse for the last 3 weeks of her life. When she came to us, she had just been washed (to get rid of lice) and she was extremely thin. In fact, she was being rescued from being euthanised in that condition. When my friend dropped her off, she said we had her to love on and make sure the rest of her days would be happy.

Flint heard her, smelt her and waited on the other side of the fence at the end of her paddock (about 100 metres) to welcome her but she saw the round bale of hay and thought she was in heaven. Both Flint and his new friend Harry waited patiently although Harry saw it as his opportunity to go and eat hay without Flint interrupting him. 

Over the next few weeks we saw Tina grow and change. Her coat became a shiny colour and the lice did not return. One time Andy saw Tina trot across the paddock to where he was offering her a biscuit of lucerne hay and some attention.

After a couple of weeks of Flint grooming her over the fence, sharing a water tank with her and him just watching her from a distance, we gave them the opportunity to share the paddock. I led Tina down to the gate that opened into their paddock where the Bay Boys were waiting. Flint followed her as she walked determinedly to their hay and paid him no attention. At one stage, she let out a squeal and Flint moved away. As she ate, Flint put his head close to hers while Harry kept his distance. 

Something happened between Flint and Tina - I think she wasn't paying him enough attention so I took Flint out and did a bit of ground work with him. Andy watched Tina and Harry but when Harry tried to befriend her, she ignored him so he trotted off to find Flint. He called out to Flint and was agitated at not being in the same paddock as him but Flint stayed focused on what I was telling him to do.

Finally I was finished with Flint so I returned him to Harry and we put Tina back in her own paddock. We often caught Flint standing watching her while Harry tucked into the hay oblivious to all else.

Yesterday morning, I went to check on Tina and her left eye was weeping and almost closed. When she opened it a bit, I could see an ulcer so she was in a lot of pain. The decision was made that she would leave us that night. I led her down to the water trough where Flint was and he tried to reach across the fence to groom her while she had a drink. She walked down to the gate hopefully, but I didn't think she'd have the strength to deal with the boys. Flint walked alongside her, then stayed next to me while she walked back to the water trough, said goodbye to Harry and returned to her hay home. 

When she left, Andy went out and gave a lot of love to Flint, then Harry. He said, "I know it is part of farm life but I haven't dealt with this before. It's hard." This is a photo with Harry but he and Flint did a lot of hugging before that.

This afternoon, as the sun setting, I walked down the driveway and there Flint was, staring at the empty space that Tina had once filled.

What we can learn from this: Love those who are with you now and enjoy the moments you share together. Be a blessing to others.

As Much As It Depends on You

 A couple months ago I had the chance to get another horse called Shorty, who, at 16 hands 1 high, is anything but short! He is a Standardbred gelding, just turned 19 and is proving to be quite a gentleman. I have him agisted at a friend's farm and even she has complimented him on him being so good. When I saddle him up, he lowers his head so that I can put his bridle on and he stands still when I am getting on him. Of course I use a mounting block because I am not 10 years younger and it takes a bit more effort. The first time I rode him out of the farm, we walked across the road and down through the bush. He carefully picked his way over the rocks and dirt, mindful of me riding him and slowed his walk to keep alongside the other horse and its rider.

On the day we picked Shorty up, we drove to the next place to pick up a horse called DJ. We took Shorty off the float and put him in a small yard to wait and in the next yard was Harry. Harry was the dominant horse of the stud so Shorty went over to say hello. He went up close to him and touched noses with him over the fence. In a moment, Harry squealed at him and Shorty walked away back to the furthermost side of his yard, away from Harry. He took a drink from the dish, came over to me and I reassured him and patted him before he walked away.

A second time Shorty approached Harry, nudged noses again and this time Harry not only squealed but he also gave a threatening snort and kick - not to make contact but just to let Shorty know who the boss was. Again, Shorty walked away. After some thinking time, he came over to Harry, nudged noses for the third time, then as Harry went to retort, Shorty moved away, turned his back and gave a little kick out at him. He was letting Harry know that he wasn't going to be threatened by him. 

When we got home, Shorty was put into his own paddock but after some grazing time, he went over to the other horses who had all been watching him, wondering who the new horse was. He went over to each of them and touched noses with them all and then walked away and went back to his grazing while they watched and wondered who he was. 

Move forward a couple months later and he has completely settled in and is looking great! Lynne has put him with the other older horse and the 2 of them can graze as much as they like. The other horses aren't quite as fortunate as they need to keep to a regular diet so they don't get fat. When Sinbad is having his hard feed, Shorty is on his own and he looks longingly over at all the other horses, wishing he could join in.

A couple weeks ago, Lynne picked up a couple of rescue mares who needed fattening up. She kept them in a smaller area while they settled in and then put up another electric fence to give them a bigger space to graze and run in. Their fence line was right next to the paddock Shorty and Sinbad were in and while Sinbad grazed, Shorty went over to greet them both. He nuzzled noses with them and watched them as they went back to their grazing. 

The older mare decided she'd flirt with Shorty and remind him of what he once was before he became a gelding. He responded, bared his teeth and leaned forward. She flicked her head and coquettishly walked away, pretending to ignore him and he was not impressed by her teasing. He went over closer to her and when she moved in, batting her eyelashes and tossing her head, he slightly reared at her, before walking away. He was pretty worked up so we went and rescued him and I walked him around the yard to give him time to cool down, before saddling him up and taking him for a ride. 

By the time we returned from our short ride, he was sweating as it was a hot and humid day. I unsaddled him, and took him to a paddock further away from the old mare. After he had grazed for a moment, he pawed the ground, lowered himself and had a good roll around. The old mare looked over in his direction but he paid her no attention. 

So the lesson learned from Shorty is: Initiate friendship and be kind to strangers. Don't let a person treat you with disrespect and stand up for yourself.

Lesson from the Bible, Romans 12:17, 18 "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."