Jesse's Page

The first time I met Jesse he tossed a food bowl at me. I came to learn that he was a sentient being with a sharp mind. I remember teaching him about mailboxes. We have a rural box that must have looked for all the world like it could eat a horse. I learned not to do just anything while leading the horse. After a bit he could open the box and check for mail. He was tied to the trailer on the side with the tack room one day. He opened a tool type box and got into some horse

cookies. Through another lid as I remember. Jesse liked gates. He could open them or jump them. Didn't seem to matter which.

I watched as he begun to get ill, a droopy lip and an eye that he had trouble closing. Thought he had a stroke or nerve damage from the hoof of another. I watched as my wife worried and fretted over him, unsure what to do. He went to the university of Georgia twice, only to find nothing. He was having trouble eating, maybe losing some of his feeling in his tongue. Dropping more of his food. I watched my wife wrestle with the decision of when to put a friend and companion down. This happened on Monday of thanksgiving week. I then watched her question her decision. What made her think she was god?

The preliminary report was a tumor on the brain stem. He was glad he didn't have to suffer that to the end.

I've often wondered about the bond between these women and their horses. I always thought it was a control issue, and nothing more. I have come to understand that the horses are really giving a gift.

PS. Thanks to those that helped her through a tough time, and thanks Whit for sharing your wisdom.