white noise

So … my dad called today while Jon and I were out. My mare, Sierra, is lame in both front feet and he thought she was foundering. The good news, after having called him back tonight, is that it’s possible she’s just lame from being too long in the hoof. Either way, I’d ask any one who is inclined to send thoughts of love and peace her way. Yes, she’s just a horse, but for all the years I was in high school, and the few years she was mine before Tommy was put to sleep and Barbie began racing on her, she was my closest companion. I couldn’t have asked for a better friend.

Sierra’s story isn’t short. By our best guesses, she’s now about 27 years old. In horse life, that’s a good chunk of time. She’s in my dad’s care right now, and honestly, I can’t think of better hands for her to be in, except perhaps God’s; I know she’s in his hands, too.

She might be a senior citizen, but she’s still a rapscallion; she steals Alex’s Yukon Jack when he’s not looking and knocks over the wheelbarrow while dad is cleaning her corral. I’ve loved her as wholly as anyone and have since the day dad told me she was mine. They’d bought her from Coreen to replace Grace, the mare a friend gave me for my sixteenth birthday. Grace twisted a gut a few months later and had to be put down.

Come to think of it now, Sierra has been a part our lives almost as long as my sister. She and Grace shared similar personalities (okay, disposition for you stuffy folks who think animals aren’t human, too). The one huge difference between them was that Grace was “quiet-spoken” … I wouldn’t call her timid or even shy, she just never got overly excited about anything. Sierra, on the other hand, can be the epitome of the stereo-typical blond: ditzy, excitable, and yes, she loves men. On pack trips, she never understood why she couldn’t stay in camp with all the people. After all, she’s people, too!

As I write this, Sierra seems to be doing better. Living 2,500 miles away, I feel terribly helpless to do anything for her except pray for the best possible outcome. I want her to be all right, but more importantly, I want her to be safe, loved, and comfortable; misery free.

She’s earned it.