Goodbye Old Friend

This is a tribute to my horse who I needed to put down earlier this week.  I had it up as a journal entry, but it was suggested I put it up as a deviation by two of my friends.  I have a picture of him among my photographs if you are interested.

Larramy (1993-2011)

Goodnight Sweet Prince is overused, but my horse, Larramy, really was royalty, not that I had a thing to do with that. This international show jumper, with a frequently stamped passport, fell into my life right after my father's death in 2007. I really had no business at my age and health buying another horse - I hadn't had my own in 8 or 9 years at that point - but he was AMAZING. The owner wanted him to have a nice retirement and he did. And for the last four and a half years we've grown old together.

There were hopes of a resurgence of soundness of health for both of us, but it never quite happened for us as a team. But he was still my buddy. And it was not that he lacked human companionship in my absence; he never had a day go by without a cuddle or carrot. Everyone loved him, but he made it easy.

At 16.1 plus hh, he still carried some of the presence of a stallion - hell, he wasn't gelded until he was 11 - but was a complete gentlemen. Anyone could be around him. He was lovely. I don't think I've ever known a kinder horse.

His career as a show horse didn't end either with us and he picked up quite a few ribbons as an equitation mount when he was sound and comfortable.

And after showing was out, he had plenty of good days, and on those days he taught lessons - not just riding lessons, but life lessons too. I'm sure I'll return to group of youngsters later in the week that hadn't had to deal with this lesson before: that you have to let them go with dignity. I'll never know why he lost his sight so quickly - looking at him with a clinical eye today, brain tumor maybe? but it doesn't matter. He couldn't be kept back in a stall away from his friends and his favorite field to graze in after all he had given all of us, and there is no way we could risk him being hurt.

So I said goodbye to my old friend today, Larramy, or Larry as we called this German born son of the great Burggraaf, thanked him for all that he had given us, freed him from the limitations of his aging body... so he could jump and run again free.