We had to cancel last week's appointment with Christina Cline because of the snow, but Little Miss Sunshine managed to squeeze Tonka and Raven into today's busy schedule. Sure enough, the weather was picture perfect (and downright chilly at -8 °C), but it was raining in Christina's heart. Two weeks ago she lost her young horse Leo to a complete veterinary mystery. She was there when he was born, she raised him, trained him, broke him and generally molded him into a dream horse that she planned to spend the next twenty years enjoying. It all started with a kick in the shoulder that he barely noticed. Christina was able to ride him the day after it happened, but when she returned from a short road trip she found him dead lame. Vets chocked it up to an infection in the tissue and started antibiotics, but he was also having trouble breathing. An autopsy revealed that his heart was grossly enlarged when he died.
I don't want to capitalize on Christina's misery here. I only want to share her story because it is such a potent reminder that our time with loved ones can be too suddenly curtailed. It cannot be an accident that the French verbs "pleurer" (to cry) and "pleuvoir" (to rain) are so similar, can it?
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9 comments:
I'm so very sorry for her loss. What a poignant post, too. The Seduction of Claude Debussy is one of my favorite albums.
My thoughts are with Christina. When we lost Corky, it was not unexpected--he was, after all, 29 years old, and generally not well (Cushings, seizures).
To lose a loved one young is so much more tragic, whether equine, human, or other.
Funder: Yes, one of my favourites too. And it did seem appropriate here.
ES: Leo was only six, so still very young, but old enough to have already proven that he was the horse of Christina's dreams. I will ask her permission to post some pictures next time I see her.
Sorry to hear about that poor little guy. It's always so hard to lose our friends.
No, it cannot be an accident. French (and I guess the other romance languages) seems to get to the heart/feeling of the meaning of so many of the words. How sad, and as Funder said, particularly poignant, given the Little Miss Sunshine imagery we associate with Christina. My heart goes out to her. It's small comfort right now, but I'm thankful that Leo's six years had, I think, a full life span of sun in them.
Very poignant. Thank you for sharing this and for the reminder of how precious life is.
So sorry for her loss....
~Lisa
How terribly sad for Christina; the pain of losing a loved one at any stage of life is deep and real, but the unexpected loss of one so young rips the heart to pieces.
May her happy memories of Leo never fade. His spirit shall always be with her.
This is so very sad indeed.
This kind of broken heart leaves a very large hole.
P.S. thanks for the advise. It was so much better than I expected today. I think it is hurt inside but stepping down on it with all my weight does Not effect it...just the rolling motion of walking on uneven ground.
Kac
fookies a cookie with oriental food inside
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