Rico’s Respect

A Horse’s Passing

This week my dear friend contacted me to tell me she euthanized her horse Blaze.   She wanted me to check in with him and see how his transition went. 

He passed in the afternoon and I was asked to check him in the evening. He was still asleep so I informed my friend I’d check in on him in the morning. 

I was about to check out, when his friend Rico came through. He showed me his thick mane and big bum. He said these features make him a handsome horse.  My friend confirmed that Rico is indeed thick, with a gorgeous mane.  I find it fascinating that Rico knows what he looks like and takes pride in his image. this is so human!

Rico shared that he loves to work, he likes to be active and try new things. His owner told me she uses him to pull the sleigh for sleigh rides at Christmas and said that he’s one of the easiest horses to catch from the field. He told me he loves his family and was honoured to spend Blaze’s last days hanging out with him.

Blaze was there bright and early, the morning after he passed. He had a bit of a headache from the medication. He began our conversation by showing that he has always been slender. His light weight made him feel buoyant when he galloped. He imagined he was flying. 

The first thing he shows me is a shed with no front wall. It’s confirmed that this type of building exists on the farm. 

Blaze tells me he can do practical jokes now. His first plan is to chase the chickens and harass one of the horses who beat him up. He thinks this is pretty funny. 

He says the ground is hard now. Not soft anymore like in the spring. The cold and snow will be here soon. This was the right time to go so he could be buried easily. He loves running on the ground when it’s like this because he can float above the ground easier. He loves the sound his hooves make on the hard earth. 

We are talking at dawn. The sun is just coming out and he says he loves this time of day. He feels it’s magical. Dusk is like this too. It’s neither dark or light and so he likes to imagine that he’s floating. Or, he enjoys imagining he’s in different places. He likes to pretend. I’m blown away by this!  I had no idea animals imagined! This is amazing. This means they have very developed intelligence. 

He tells me that over the past few days he’s been afraid of falling. He’s been stumbling and doesn’t feel at ease in his body. He’s happy now because he can think of a place and be there, without moving. He finds it amazing that he can move, just with his thoughts!

He tells me to thank his family, especially Mom who brought him to the farm. He says she has a strong heart and they could just love each other without needing to talk. 

He also had a special love for Summer who was a filly when he met her. He taught her how to run with him. He taught her how to stay with him as he moved. He said she smelled sweet. People who smell sweet are always good. He showed me that horses can recognize each other by smell and smell each other from far distances. 

He told me that my friends boys are still a little nervous around horses but Summer was like a human horse. 

He then shared that he was passing summer down to a paint mare. He said that she likes things her own way but Summer can handle her. He asked me to tell everyone thank you and that he’ll try to show them that he’s still there. 

My friend told me that Rico was with the family when they hurried Blaze. He stayed with him until he passed and told me that he knew everybody ultimately leaves. He walked the 200 metre distance between where Blaze died and where he was buried several times. 

This conversation blew my mind and heart wide open. I always knew horses were smart but I had no clue the depth to which they imagine and live. 

I feel a new respect and depth of love for animals. We are all one here on our planet. We all have hopes and dreams. We all love our inter species families. We need to rethink the way we treat the animal kingdom. They are more like us than we can imagine and have gifts that we don’t   

maybe humans and horses have such a deep bond because they think in a similar way.

Thank you blaze for talking with me and enabling me to share the world of horses with people.