May 30,2007 By David Driver
The Horse
It has been a few years since the first time I did this.
And from that time on there have been many more.
Many more wonderful memories; opportunities for smiles, laughs, frustrations and fears but it was the first one that always stayed close to my heart.
I’ve told the story before, it is about a horse that I took in and fed, loved and gave medicine that was needed.
And when the time had arrived I took him for the walk.
Took him out and released him with the others.
As I stated earlier, I think about him a lot and at times it seems as if he is smiling at me.
There will be times when I will just see him grazing or just walking by with the others and it is as if he will just stop and look at me.
I don’t know if it is to say "Thank you," or to say “Hey what are you looking at man, you ever see a horse walk or graze before?â€Â
And now it is time for another one to go, another one who now has the strength built up to go out there with the others and hopefully forget the bad things that happened to her in the past.
I don’t do this to be called a hero; I do this because God blessed me with this opportunity.
In my opinion one, of God’s greatest creations is the horse.
They are beautiful. They are workers yet they can be loving.
And if you own a horse and you don’t hug your horse I pray for you.
I mean, if you have a horse you have to hug your horse.
It’s stated that people who own dogs and cats have healthier lives well, the same is true for horse owners.
And I have pictures of all the ones that I have taken in and as I look back in the pictures at times I laugh and yes, cry.
The reason is because I may not know how bad they may have had it but I know from now on their lives are much brighter.
It is amazing what a little food and love can do and of course one needs to be patient and cautious at times.
It is so easy to get all caught up and have your heart broken.
It’s like some people, even though they are different, there are some things the same.
Some people are starved for attention, some love but starved spiritually.
And we as individuals and the Church take them in, feed them natural food, give them love and feed them the word of God.
It is amazing how much difference this can make in a person, how much better they start looking and how much higher they will raise their head.
Then again there are still differences there as well.
Some people want handouts while others just want a hand to reach out.
And for a horse, yes, all they want is a loving hand reaching out to them to show them they can be loved.
Yes some fight it more because they have been through rougher times than others.
But eventually they realize we are there to love them and protect them.
And a horse does not want anyone feeling sorry for them, they just want to be loved, that’s all.
And once you show them love you start seeing the rewards of the seed you have sowed.
You see a complete attitude change, the way they stand, walk and run, the look in their eyes.
And as they gain weight you see them shine and get stronger and proud.
We as humans can learn a lot from horses and a lot of it is simply pride.
Be proud of who you are of who you have been designed to be.
And when you run with people, run with those who are winners and those who you can depend on, knowing they can depend on you to be strong when needed.
The reason I love these horses so much is because they work together as a family.
And as I am taking her down to the place they seem to gather the most, I pray that I will at least see him.
As we get closer I get a little nervous then I hear them.
We walk over the hill and there they are as usual, all beautiful and full of love.
I tell her this is her new family and take her in closer as some just stop and look while others back away as if to get a better look.
I take off the halter and give her a hug and a kiss on her face and turn to walk away.
As I am walking away, holding back a tear, I turn one more time to say goodbye and she starts towards me.
I stand there wanting to run to her, this beautiful horse, but knowing I must be strong and hope she stops.
She slowly comes up to me and nudges me with her nose and I reach up to touch her one last time.
I reach up and run my hand down the side of her neck then once again turn to walk away.
But before I do yes, I give her one more hug.
This time I just hold her, this beautiful horse that has brought joy into my life and now has a family of other horses to join and be happy with.
I let her go and step back and then I look to see if my first release is around but I do not see him.
I stand there for a while waiting to see if he will show himself but nothing.
I then start to go, at first walking backwards, once again with the hope he will be there then I turn and go.
I get a few steps and hear one of them whinny and I turn and it is the one I just released.
Maybe she was saying "Thank you, see you around."
Then again it could be that I have just been around horses too long
I turn and start walking back and as I get close to the hill I hear that familiar sound of a horse running.
I turn and there he is running toward me I freeze but not from fear from awe and amazement.
He is more beautiful than I remember and as he gets closer I feel a tear start to fall.
I drop the halter and rope and start walking toward him then he just stops.
He looks at me and starts walking to me. I don’t know if I should walk to him or turn and run so I stay and let him come to me.
As he gets closer I reach out to touch him and then he does something that no one will ever believe.
He raised his head and placed it next to mine with his neck at my shoulder and I hugged him.
I held him, this big beautiful horse, and then we both backed away I said "Goodbye, my friend," and turned to walk away.
I started back and I stopped to pick up the halter and rope and I turned one more time and as I did the most amazing thing took place.
I was looking at over a hundred horses, all rescues from myself and others around, and then they all started.
They started to whinny and neigh some raised up on their hind legs while others pawed at the ground.
It was as if they were applauding me and I just stood there in awe.
When they calmed down he looked at me one more time then turned and went on his way.
I turned and walked home and as I approached my house I couldn’t help but think about the ones I helped and the ones that will eventually touch my life one day.
And once again I do this to be a blessing to one of God’s greatest creations
The Horse
The Horse
It has been a few years since the first time I did this.
And from that time on there have been many more.
Many more wonderful memories; opportunities for smiles, laughs, frustrations and fears but it was the first one that always stayed close to my heart.
I’ve told the story before, it is about a horse that I took in and fed, loved and gave medicine that was needed.
And when the time had arrived I took him for the walk.
Took him out and released him with the others.
As I stated earlier, I think about him a lot and at times it seems as if he is smiling at me.
There will be times when I will just see him grazing or just walking by with the others and it is as if he will just stop and look at me.
I don’t know if it is to say "Thank you," or to say “Hey what are you looking at man, you ever see a horse walk or graze before?â€Â
And now it is time for another one to go, another one who now has the strength built up to go out there with the others and hopefully forget the bad things that happened to her in the past.
I don’t do this to be called a hero; I do this because God blessed me with this opportunity.
In my opinion one, of God’s greatest creations is the horse.
They are beautiful. They are workers yet they can be loving.
And if you own a horse and you don’t hug your horse I pray for you.
I mean, if you have a horse you have to hug your horse.
It’s stated that people who own dogs and cats have healthier lives well, the same is true for horse owners.
And I have pictures of all the ones that I have taken in and as I look back in the pictures at times I laugh and yes, cry.
The reason is because I may not know how bad they may have had it but I know from now on their lives are much brighter.
It is amazing what a little food and love can do and of course one needs to be patient and cautious at times.
It is so easy to get all caught up and have your heart broken.
It’s like some people, even though they are different, there are some things the same.
Some people are starved for attention, some love but starved spiritually.
And we as individuals and the Church take them in, feed them natural food, give them love and feed them the word of God.
It is amazing how much difference this can make in a person, how much better they start looking and how much higher they will raise their head.
Then again there are still differences there as well.
Some people want handouts while others just want a hand to reach out.
And for a horse, yes, all they want is a loving hand reaching out to them to show them they can be loved.
Yes some fight it more because they have been through rougher times than others.
But eventually they realize we are there to love them and protect them.
And a horse does not want anyone feeling sorry for them, they just want to be loved, that’s all.
And once you show them love you start seeing the rewards of the seed you have sowed.
You see a complete attitude change, the way they stand, walk and run, the look in their eyes.
And as they gain weight you see them shine and get stronger and proud.
We as humans can learn a lot from horses and a lot of it is simply pride.
Be proud of who you are of who you have been designed to be.
And when you run with people, run with those who are winners and those who you can depend on, knowing they can depend on you to be strong when needed.
The reason I love these horses so much is because they work together as a family.
And as I am taking her down to the place they seem to gather the most, I pray that I will at least see him.
As we get closer I get a little nervous then I hear them.
We walk over the hill and there they are as usual, all beautiful and full of love.
I tell her this is her new family and take her in closer as some just stop and look while others back away as if to get a better look.
I take off the halter and give her a hug and a kiss on her face and turn to walk away.
As I am walking away, holding back a tear, I turn one more time to say goodbye and she starts towards me.
I stand there wanting to run to her, this beautiful horse, but knowing I must be strong and hope she stops.
She slowly comes up to me and nudges me with her nose and I reach up to touch her one last time.
I reach up and run my hand down the side of her neck then once again turn to walk away.
But before I do yes, I give her one more hug.
This time I just hold her, this beautiful horse that has brought joy into my life and now has a family of other horses to join and be happy with.
I let her go and step back and then I look to see if my first release is around but I do not see him.
I stand there for a while waiting to see if he will show himself but nothing.
I then start to go, at first walking backwards, once again with the hope he will be there then I turn and go.
I get a few steps and hear one of them whinny and I turn and it is the one I just released.
Maybe she was saying "Thank you, see you around."
Then again it could be that I have just been around horses too long
I turn and start walking back and as I get close to the hill I hear that familiar sound of a horse running.
I turn and there he is running toward me I freeze but not from fear from awe and amazement.
He is more beautiful than I remember and as he gets closer I feel a tear start to fall.
I drop the halter and rope and start walking toward him then he just stops.
He looks at me and starts walking to me. I don’t know if I should walk to him or turn and run so I stay and let him come to me.
As he gets closer I reach out to touch him and then he does something that no one will ever believe.
He raised his head and placed it next to mine with his neck at my shoulder and I hugged him.
I held him, this big beautiful horse, and then we both backed away I said "Goodbye, my friend," and turned to walk away.
I started back and I stopped to pick up the halter and rope and I turned one more time and as I did the most amazing thing took place.
I was looking at over a hundred horses, all rescues from myself and others around, and then they all started.
They started to whinny and neigh some raised up on their hind legs while others pawed at the ground.
It was as if they were applauding me and I just stood there in awe.
When they calmed down he looked at me one more time then turned and went on his way.
I turned and walked home and as I approached my house I couldn’t help but think about the ones I helped and the ones that will eventually touch my life one day.
And once again I do this to be a blessing to one of God’s greatest creations
The Horse
