Thank you

June 18th 2014

The Rainbow Bridge across our Orchard here in Devon

Thank you everyone for all your beautiful and so kind thoughts, about the loss of our foal, Erik. Please excuse me for not replying individually to you all. We're still in emotional shock, he was such a lovely little chap, a real sweetheart.

A lot of people knock Facebook and social media  for various reasons, but at times like these past couple of days, for myself and my family, Facebook in particular has been a source of great comfort. To know that there are a lot of very, very lovely people out there in the world has been an amazing experience - people I am genuinely honoured to call 'friend'.

It seems Erik had a hole in his palette and possibly brain damage from being born, or there could have been what is called 'dummy foal syndrome'   (Equine Neonatal Maladjustment Syndrome). Even if the vet had been able to keep him alive he may well have been "disabled", which in a horse, unlike people, is not as easy to cope with. The kindest thing was to let him go - as nature would have ensured had he been born in the wild.

Even so, I spent most of yesterday trying to figure out why the spirit world took him back - this is the second foal taken from us at 6 days old, it seemed so very unfair. Why are we being treated so cruelly? Are we not good enough/caring enough to to bring up a foal in this world? How could you do this to us again? Are the spirits so uncompassionate to do this to us yet again? Why? Why? Why?

But someone,, ( a good friend) said something that has answered the questions.
We are not being treated cruelly, the spirits are not laughing at us, or playing evil games - the little body wasn't strong enough to accommodate the spirit, so the spirit had to leave. Just one of those things. Hard and sad to accept, but understandable. The little body was not formed right, the spirit couldn't survive in it.
Next time 'Erik' will be OK.

I doubt there will be a next time for us, I'm not sure that we are strong enough to try again to home-breed another foal - I don't think I could face it.

But who knows what the future holds?

I have been assured that the little chap is being looked after by a host of horsey uncles and aunts, and his dam, Ishi is content with her friends Lexie and Squidgy grazing side-by-side in our meadow.

Thank you again for all your so kind thoughts. They have all been very much appreciated.

Ishi and Erik