Sadness in the horse blogging world.

Many of us, I am sure, have read about Gogo and the very sad and unfourtunate diagnosis and the heart wrenching decisions Andrea has to make.  She is surely making the best of the time she has left with her beloved mare and there is also opportunity to help out and do something for Andrea, that you can find out more about here, to show her that she is not alone in her pain and that the blogger world supports her.

But unfortunately Andrea is not alone in this heart breaking decision.  Lex a lovely young horseman has been given a grim diagnosis on her beloved Hennessey.  Her along with her families support has had to make the decision on what is best for her best friend.  You can read the diagonosis here on her Mom's blog.  Lex also had a working student postion over the summer and had a blog updating her work and relationship with Henny and you can follow her blog here.  I think it a great thing for some of us 'veteran' horseman (women) to come along side of her and give her the strength and support that we all hope to have in that dark time of saying good-bye to a best friend.

It is a sad time and I wish that things did not have to happen this way.  But it does not take long in horse ownership before one of these amazing beasts owns our heart and along with that comes that pain and heart ache that comes along with loving anything or anyone more than ourselves.  We undoubtably take a risk in letting them into our lives.  Well it is not a risk it is more of a guarantee that they will break our hearts at some point in our lives.  But we do it anyway knowing that somewhere along the way we will have to say good bye and possibly even be the one to have to make a life or death decision for them.

Why?  Because they joy, enrichment, strength, charachter, maturity and relationship with them is worth all the possible heart ache they can bring.  The saying "It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all" is the epitome of why we take that guarantee of pain.  Because to have not only known a horse but to have had an intimate relationship with one will change you for the better.  A Buck Brennaman quote, "Horses will make you better in areas you never knew related to horses".  Hug your horse today!  And go ahead and give them an extra one because one day you may not be able to hang on that neck.  Don't take today with them for granted, I am sure Andrea and Lex are not.