Everything sublime is as difficult as it is rare. Baruch Spinoza

Friday, February 6, 2009

Love, Loss And A Horse

There is no secret so close as that between a rider and his horse.  ~Robert Smith Surtees

My boy is unhappy. He is a crabby, agitated stallion. I didn't recognize it initially because Zing does have ADHA, so his unhappiness escaped me for awhile. It finally occurred to me, he misses Kristina.

Zing is Kristina's horse. She rides him. She fusses with him. I raised him. I feed him. I am the enforcer. She is his person. Zing is a hand-raised orphan, which has caused him to have a different relationship with people. He believes we are an ugly species of horse. Or, he is a gorgeous version of human. Zing is very tuned in to his surroundings and his relationships. 

Personal matters, weather and car problems have kept Kristina away for a couple of months. Zing is not pleased. His girl is coming out today and he will be like a happy puppy when he sees her. Which is not as cute as it sounds when the puppy is a thousand pound stallion.

This brings me to my next problem. I have had several young woman pass through my barn over the years. The key is, they pass through. The horses never became attached to these women, until now. The reality is, Kristina will not be any different. She will move on. And Zing will mourn. Which means I will mourn. He is my baby, all four legs and thousand pounds. But his dear heart belongs to a temporary love.

5 comments:

Ganeida said...

Ouch. I wish we could explain better to animals. Issi grieves soo much when I'm not around. He really goes into a decline although Dearest fusses over him extra specially. My mum's cat grieved when dad died & couldn't understanf why mum hadn't brought him home with her.

Just Jules said...

Animals and people alike - a heart ache can not be explained away or rushed....

Sandra said...

My dog Bill noticed when one of the dogs died. He would have a definite change in his demeanor. The other dogs I've had didn't show it, if they felt something. My stallion Topper and my gelding Shaka are very bonded to me. The rest don't have any particular attachment to anyone. Zing has attached to Kristina though. It's hard with animals cause you can't tell them. I guess you're right Jules.

I can't imagine what it is like to have an unhappy cat.

EveryoneThinksThey'reGoodDrivers said...

An unhappy cat is a very bad thing!

A couple of years ago my sister offered to "babysit" my cat while I was out of town for a week - she offered to do it out of her home.

I told her all she really needed was someone to check in on her every other day, but she offered to take her home.

Well, that did not last 3 days. My cat would not settle in, cried all night long. No one could sleep.

I've never experienced this behavior myself.

An unhappy cat is bad, but an unhappy orphaned stallion is definitely not good!

Sandra said...

Yep, I knew an unhappy cat would not be a good thing!
Happy puppy, just as I predicted. He gets so wiggly. He let her know he wasn't happy for the first couple of minutes when she got on, but he settled down and was very good. It's tough having a special needs horse.