I ended my last post in July on 'Comfort in Troubled Times' relating to what animals give to their human friends in the way of comfort. Among other meanings of comfort is to cheer, to soothe and give solace and relief. Horses are quite attuned to this companionship that brings comfort between mammal and humankind. Sugar was one such horse who came to live on our ranch when she was older, around 15 years of age. In human years, that would be about 48. Not too old, right? - But not a teenager either.
She was a gentle and trusting friend. I took this picture of her when she first came to live with us and called it 'Sugar in my Pocket'. She happened to be nuzzling inside of Jim's jacket. It is one of the better photos that I took with my first digital camera years ago. It is one of those moment pictures that tells a story.
The photo below is one taken of our grandson's first ride on a horse that happened to be Sugar. He was barely a year old but Grandpa had him secured in his arms to get a short ride on Sugar. I don't know who enjoyed this the most... Grandpa, Grandson or Sugar! Our grandson is now 16 years of age and a High School Junior. He'll soon be starting his own adventure in life bringing with him good memories of 4-legged friends that he encountered on the ranch. And time rolls on....
You may have noticed that I have referred to Sugar in the past tense. She passed away simply of old age on October 12th. She had spent 15 more years with us, making her age into the thirties. So a 30+ year old horse would be close to 90 in human years. She led a good life with us, free to roam the pastures and hills with her friends. Occasionally, she would tolerate being saddled up to give a ride to a human friend. One such human friend is Father Julian Cassar who came out to visit us while he was pastor at a parish in John Day. Sugar impressed him so much that he also wrote a post about her on his own blog that you can read at this link.... https://dungiljan.blogspot.com/2020/10/so-long-sugar.html
Yes, so long Sugar... you have now entered eternally rich green pastures where time does not exist, nor does old age. You are safe in the Master's hands, ready to give Him a ride. What a ride that would be between the Creator and the created!
Until we meet again at The Turn-Up Patch, I leave you with a beautiful quote by Ronald Duncan...
"The horse. Here is nobility without conceit, friendship without envy, beauty without vanity. A willing servant, yet never a slave."
