“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another “What, you too? I thought I was the only one!” C.S.Lewis
Hello again Humans! I asked my human, Ma Leueen, to find some good words to say about a friend and friendship. I know humans rely heavily on words to describe their feelings. So she found that quote and I like it. It describes very well my friendship with Chet.
I first met Chet when I arrived in Florida this winter. He was in the stall next to mine and in the barn there are spaces between the boards so we could communicate easily. Right away I knew he was a good guy and we found we had things in common. As an added bonus we got turned out in paddocks next to each other. Well, we had a grand time nipping at one another over the fence and laughing and talking. When I went off to the show I told him all about it when I came back. There was that rather snooty mare in the trailer with me and he laughed when I told him she wouldn’t talk to me or the other fellow who was in the trailer.
Then a young woman came to ride him one morning. She was not his usual human. But Chet said he knew her and that some time ago she had ridden him and he said she was a pretty nice human. She just rode him the once and then she did not come back. I thought that was odd but Chet said she lives somewhere far away and she must have gone home.
Then it started. The vet came and did a bunch of stuff with Chet: he poked him in various places, then held up his legs one at a time and then had a human run with him on the driveway. Then there was a lot of talk with the vet, with Coach Lou and his assistant Lindsay. Then the vet went away. When Chet came back to his stall he didn’t seem worried. But I knew he just didn’t want to worry me or to think about what it might mean. When the vet comes and does that kind of thing with a horse and the horse is not having a problem or an injury,it usually means a different human is looking at the horse ,with the idea of buying the horse. Chet told me ,later that night, that he knew he was for sale. I was so sad to hear that.
Then the vet came again and Chet had to stand on blocks and the vet put flat metal or glass pieces next to his feet and his hocks and other places. There was the yellow machine there too. I know what that is. The humans call it an Exx Ray machine. It takes special pictures. I know when Ma Leueen was going to buy me she had a bunch of those Exx Ray pictures taken. Someone was going to buy Chet. Was it the young human? Would she take him far away?
A few days after that Chet’s regular human was there and she was getting out leg bandages and sorting out stuff. I was really worried. I went over to the arena and Ma Leueen and I had our lesson with Coach Lou.
When I came back to my stall Chet was not there. I was taken out to my paddock and he wasn’t there either. In the afternoon, back in my stall , I called for him. No answer. I put my head out the window and called: “Chet! Chet, where are you? Are you still outside?” No answer. I called and called. Some of the humans in the barn tried to pat me and tell me everything was alright. But no matter how often they came to pat me or what they said they could not parlay any of it into making me feel it was alright.
It was not alright. Where was my friend Chet? I called again.
Then Coach Lou came up to me and patted me and he told me the awful news. Chet had gone to another human. He was going to live with the young human who had come to ride him that day. Coach Lou said she was nice and she would love him and give him a good life.
I stopped calling for Chet because now I knew he was gone. He was gone and I would never see him again. That night I felt so sad . That is what can happen in a horse’s life. You make a good friend and then they are gone and you never see them again. But I was glad he had gone to a good human. She would think he was special just like Ma Leueen thinks I am special.
Ma Leueen showed me some photos of Chet with his new human. She got them from a Book of Faces. I have to say Chet looked good. He looked happy.
And look at this photo! He looks so proud. That made me feel much better.
As you may know we horses do not need words to communicate with each other. We can transfer thoughts and feelings instantly. So I asked Ma Leueen to find another quote for the words to let the human readers know how I felt about Chet now and how I am happy for him.
If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together… there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart… I’ll always be with you.”
– Winnie the Pooh ( A.A. Milne)
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/parlay/
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