We've all been there. It's too hot, cold, buggy, rainy, smoggy, windy, icy, [insert undesirable weather condition here] to do anything with your horse except stand around and wish the weather would cooperate.
Try as we might, we can't simply wish our way into creating endlessly perfect weather. Sometimes we adjust our expectations. Sometimes we have to counter-condition our response to less-than-perfect weather. Sometimes we pack up and move to a completely different zip code to get more of the weather we want. Sometimes we just suck it up and get things done regardless of the forecast.
The harsh reality is simple. We can't control the weather, we can only change our response to it.
As an amazing client-turned-best friend of mine would say, we need to learn how to create our own sunshine.
But here's the catch.
This blog post was never actually about the weather at all (unless you need it to be!). This is the part where you gasp!
A couple of months ago, Annie's pasture mate transitioned out of her physical body. I had some warning that this was coming, but I was devastated. Whether I agreed with it or not, it was not my decision to make. I understood, but was heartbroken for Annie, her friend, her friend's human, and myself.
Above all, I was so worried Annie would be lost without her buddy. She had only ever known our current farm of nearly three years with her companion. Aside from their daily routine where one horse would leave and return for time with their humans, they had only been separated for a couple of weeks last summer while Annie recovered from a summer sore on one of her legs. Thankfully, that time passed with no major or chronic signs of stress on her part. I made plans with the barn owner to find another horse to go out with Annie, but was keenly aware of the stress she might endure after losing one friend and learning to get along with another.
I also felt guilty that Annie would not get the chance to say goodbye because her friend was to transition at her human's home. Her 24/7 companion of almost three years would leave the farm and not return. I have seen how important it is for horses to acknowledge the physical loss of their friends and it truly hurt my heart to know that I could not give this opportunity to Annie. I know that in boarding situations, horses have to deal with herd changes all the time, but it isn't ideal.
In the weeks before Annie's friend left, I spent a lot of extra time standing and talking with the two mares. I thanked her pasture mate for being here with us. I apologized that we could not save her from the pain her body had to endure as a result of PSSM. I could tell they were both at peace with what was to come, though there was definitely a shift in the energy around them.
When the day came for Annie's friend to leave, I was pleasantly surprised at how calm and grounded she stayed as her friend loaded onto the trailer for the last time. While she did look for her for a couple of days after she left, she ultimately adjusted to being alone for a week or so incredibly well. Thankfully, not only did she have horses she could see around her at nearly all times, but she had an older gelding friend who started going out with her during the days to keep her company. As hard as it was to watch her friend leave for good, she handled it so much better than I could have ever imagined and her resilience was so incredibly powerful to witness.
Ultimately, you have to stop trying to change the things you cannot control, and you learn to change the things that you can.
Full transparency moment, I wrote this blog post shortly after Annie's pasture mate's passing in April, but it has sat in my drafts. The universe quickly showed me that this was all a simple stepping stone to prepare us for what was to come...
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