NVA Equine reposted this
"Since the day I got him, I hoped he could live his life and never have a bad day. I hoped he would be healthy, and discover that the world was kind and that he was cared for. As I watched him in the last years of his life, I felt content that I had succeeded. He was happy and healthy, I had never put my ego or needs over his care, I had always made the choice to stop one day early rather than one day late. And as horses age, if you want them to continue living that way, you need to decide what the end game is." ~ Sara Bradley I have been quiet this summer; I have been grieving this summer; and I have been struggling to find the words, until I read the above in the Chronicle of the Horse. I have been incapable of talking about it, until just recently, and believe me, typing these words is much easier than actually speaking them, still. But life moves on with insistence, and whether I like it or not, as I encounter many of you during our travel and conference season, I need you to know: It is with unending sadness I share the loss of one of the true loves of my life, my equine companion of 21 years, my beloved Diamond Rio. It's hard to express what he meant to me, or how much this loss has impacted my life and my sense of identity. I was not prepared to feel so untethered. Our story is long and takes place over nearly half my life, but the last 5 years, Rio has been retired, living out his days on the green, rolling pastures of the Blue Ridge, in western North Carolina. Although in his prime, he was an athlete and a fierce competitor, I don't think I've ever seen him as happy as he was, just mowing the grass. My practical, vet tech side, had started to wonder now that he was 27, how much time we had left, but despite knowing all too well how quickly things can change, I did not expect to have to say goodbye so suddenly. Our last day together was one of the hardest of my life. While my heart aches, I am also profoundly grateful for our time together—it is always the toughest horses who teach you the best lessons, and help shape your character. I owe most of who I am today as a horsewoman and vet nurse to him. "𝐺𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑓 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒. 𝐼𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 (𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔)." ~ 𝐷𝑎𝑦 𝑆𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑘𝑟𝑒𝑡 If you've read this far, thank you for bearing with me. Go hug your horse, or your dog, or cat, or your human, whomever it is that brings you joy. And if you see me out and about this fall, I also gladly accept hugs. #fortheloveofhorses #grief
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