Best and worst

The best things about horses are the firsts.

And I don't mean rosettes/places.

I mean all those other firsts...

The first exhilarating canter. The first time they recognise you and come to call. The first whinny of hello. The first lesson, the first competition. The first time it starts to gel. The first time they trust you to do something scary or new. Even the first fall !

But the worst thing about horses is the lasts.

The ones you know....

The last time you fill a haynet, or prepare a feed. The last time you say goodnight.

And the ones you only realise after....

The last ride, the last farrier visit. That at the time you didn't even realise were a "last" anything.

This has been a week of lasts, and tonight I didn't need to fill any haynets as after tomorrow Rosie  won't be there to eat them.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Rosie-pony and help her across the Rainbow Bridge. She can't walk there by herself anymore. But once there, she will be pain free and able to run again.

I will cherish all those firsts, but so wish the lasts could have waited a few years more.