Saying Goodbye to a Friend

My horse, Skip, has been in and out of quite a few different horse herds. While he adapts easily and gets along well, he never was overly attached to any individual horse. That was up until he met Chester two years ago.

From the moment of their first meeting, these two older guys were inseperable. Chester is the pack leader and tends to run off any new horse, but not Skip. He loved him from "hello." And Skip adored him. They had a wonderful two years together.

Last week, Chester, a 16 year old retired ranch gelding who had never had a vet bill in his life, inexplicably colicked. Despite best efforts to get him through it, the battle was lost and Chester had to be put down.

Chester's best buddy Skip stood by him through the last hours of his life - nickering and nudging him, trying to urge him on. Skip never left Chester's side and I have to believe it was a comfort to Chester to have his best pal with him at the end. Goodbye, old friend.