Echo died sometime in the early morning hours of Thursday, May 20, 2004. She went down in the pasture under her favorite tree and quietly died. I like to think she did not die alone. Her yearling friend was still lying next to her
when she was found.
There are memories in life that can be recalled with such clarity it is possible to simply close one’s eyes and the remembrance brings back all the feelings with an intensity that rivals the actual moment…moments that are so filled with absolute contentment that they sear themselves into our consciousness forever. For me, so many of those perfect seconds include my horse, Echo. I cannot explain it but these were times when horse and rider became one in thoughts and feelings.
These were warm, sunny days with a gentle breeze lightly lifting her mane from her neck when I would sit on her back and we would both savor a vista just climbed. We would ride up the trail to a knoll of small saplings that dappled the ground with flitting shadows and leaves that whispered secrets in the breeze.
She would turn at that moment, at the very crest of the hill, and look over the glistening lake and woods that lay below us. Between my legs I could feel her heart beating and her chest expanding and falling with every breath.
I would reach down and stroke her warm neck, her chestnut coat shining red in the light. Two friends sharing a perfect moment. Whispy clouds would drift past overhead in a blue sky, and still she would stand frozen in place, nostrils flared, taking in the sight and scent of that spot. I think now she was glimpsing heaven, and I, the lesser soul, was unable to grasp that we were viewing the cathedral of God. So I would squeeze my legs, and cluck my tongue and tell her to “walk” and turn her back to the barn.
To my friend of many years with love,
| Echo |
| 2004 |
| Judy Sharp |