My dear, old friend.

You might have read our previous post that our horse, Blue, was in failing health. We're not sure if it is something neurological, or if it's something about his 27 years of age that compounded over time, but he was meeting the end of his road.

We got a phone call two weeks ago that confirmed his fate. He was no longer able to move with control, and we decided that the very best thing for him was to be put to sleep. That was Wednesday night, and by Friday afternoon, we were loaded in the car to say our goodbyes.

Wylie is typically pretty anti-car seat, but some part of me believes that he knew this would be a rough trip for us, and he took it easy on us. He was peacefully snoozing our entire five hour trip- and then was a CHAMP throughout the weekend- meeting his horse for the first and last time, and greeting his Aunt E with a smile and a laugh throughout the weekend. He was the traveling star we knew he could be.

Saying goodbye was harder than I anticipated. As we walked out to the pasture, it only took one look to know that we had made the right decision. Blue, my dear old friend, was no longer the healthy able-bodied horse I'd always known. He was stumbling and out-of-sorts. But despite that, he still nuzzled us, and let us pet and brush him. I like to think that he knew it was us, his family.

It's a pretty amazing thing, having a pet this long. He and I met when I was 14, and my life was never the same. I learned so much from him, about riding and about true horsemanship, but mostly about myself. Looking at Blue and Elizabeth, I was reminded just how much I have to be grateful for-

Grateful that my parents finally buckled and let me have him that summer

Grateful that they drove me out to the barn every day to see him (or clean out stalls to pay for my lessons!)

Grateful that because of him, I became more confident and adventurous

Grateful for long, hot summers at Camp Pinewood- riding the trails and teaching lessons.

Grateful for the Lewis Family, the Bibb family, and the Mullens for keeping Blue healthy, safe and happy while my life jumbled me around.

Grateful for a husband who understood (Even on poorer days) that this mattered to me, and a horse out in retirement pasture was no less important than a horse under your saddle.

And oh so grateful for Elizabeth. A woman who has helped me grow from the second we jumped in the horse trailer together in college, to the minute we said goodbye to Blue. As she hugged him one final time, she said, "thank you". I can't think of a better way to say it.