Yes, They Are Angels
By Dr. Sue Whitman
http://www.goinggaited.com/aVeterinarianOnCall.html
There is a quote on my wall that lists no author. It says “In the end, we’re not certain if God entrusts us to our horses or our horses to us.” I personally think I have received much more from horses than I could ever repay, so I vote for the “God entrusts us to our horses” segment. We see more than our share of miracles at Horse-Angels; as a result of past miracles, we expect success when all those around us say “This one is hopeless.” Yet, the most awesome and emotional miracles here are those that reveal the enormity of a horse’s love for a human. I am now certain that the horses that come here don’t come by some random course of events, but rather are sent by God for a specific human. Over and over I see humans draw courage, confidence, joy, and faith from a horse that followed a complex path to get here. An example might explain what I mean:
In late 2008, a local magazine ran a short article on Horse-Angels Rescue, and a few days after it published, a man named Earl called and asked if he could be a volunteer. He was retired and bored, loved horses, and had owned a perfect horse once. Earl came out to meet me, and said he’d like to assist daily with morning feeding. Earl was 70 years old, and I expected that driving every a.m. for 40 minutes in the dark, and helping me with the 3 hours of feeding and medicating would soon lose its appeal. Well, months passed and I truly looked forward every morning to Earl’s company and help. One morning Earl asked if he could adopt a horse and leave it here to board. I don’t have room for boarders because they take a space that could house a rescue horse, so I told Earl his horse would have to have a problem that made it an unadoptable resident. Rideable unadoptables are rare, but if one came in, it would be Earl’s horse.
Earl was patient, and I assured him that if he was supposed to have a horse, it would come. Horses came and went. One that came in from a humane society was a 5 year old gelding named Spirit, with a large mass just under a front fetlock that had been biopsied as proud flesh. Spirit is a common rescue name and I just couldn’t handle another. I told Earl that it was time to honor a horse with the name of our most loyal volunteer! Spirit became Earl. Earl the Horse was anemic, skinny, and needed numerous surgeries. Earl the Man held supplies and assisted with every procedure. Repeated biopsies came back as proud flesh, and eventually the leg was normal in appearance, and Earl the Horse was healthy. He was an amazing ride! He had to have been trained and ridden by a skilled equestrian! He was adopted promptly, but the adopter could not come pick up his new horse for a few weeks. Before that time passed, new lesions appeared at the site of the proud flesh! Earl the Horse was anesthetized again and it appeared that some of the growth was diving deep into the nerve and vessel areas of the fetlock. I needed another, deeper biopsy, and another vet to assist on such a potentially damaging surgery! I hauled Earl and Earl to the surgery suite of an equine specialist, and we discovered that the rapidly growing masses were traveling deep into the vital structures of the fetlock instead of outward at the skin level. Proud flesh does not behave in this way. A deep biopsy was obtained and the result came back a cancer, “malignant sarcoid.” Earl the Horse would require ongoing therapy, and therefore became unadoptable. Earl the Man adopted Earl the Horse, causing some confusion in communicating around the barn! “Which Earl do you mean, the man or the horse?”
Earl the Horse was young and liked to move, especially back to the barn! I let some of our equestrian volunteers ride him to keep him quieter for Earl the Man, but every rider had trouble. Earl the Man said he could handle those issues and in his typical stubborn manner, saddled Earl and went out alone on the trail. I watched secretly through binoculars, and guess what? Earl the horse was walking carefully and slowly, even when aimed at the barn! If we put any other rider on Earl, he tries his tricks and he begs for a canter, but he keeps his Earl safe.
In the last year, Earl the Horse has developed numerous sarcoid tumors and he is on both traditional and holistic treatments. The tumors have never shown up in the girth or saddle areas, and he loves his rides when Earl the Man is up to it. It may be a while now before Earl the Man can think about a ride, as last week he was diagnosed with colon cancer, and has a long road of radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery ahead. He came out to see Earl the Horse before he went to the hospital for his first treatment, and they spent an hour together just grooming and talking. When Earl the Man left he said “Well, I have cancer like Earl. He and I are going to fight our cancer together. He doesn’t worry about it because he can’t change it anyway; I think I’ll handle it that way too”.
What are the chances that a 5 year old talented horse would have to stay here for his lifetime? What are the chances that we would name a horse after Earl and then have Earl get to adopt him? What are the chances that a horse battling cancer would be adopted by a man who would need that horse’s love and courage to guide him in his own cancer battle? Perhaps Earl the Horse is the one that adopted Earl the Man? All I know is that the horse treats Earl differently than any other rider; he protects him and stops if he feels Earl’s balance shift. I am sure Earl the horse is right where he belongs, and at just the right time. Yes, he must be an angel! A horse-angel!
See our website, www.horse-angels.org if you would like to send Earl the Man (or Earl the Horse) a note of encouragement!
http://www.goinggaited.com/aVeterinarianOnCall.html
There is a quote on my wall that lists no author. It says “In the end, we’re not certain if God entrusts us to our horses or our horses to us.” I personally think I have received much more from horses than I could ever repay, so I vote for the “God entrusts us to our horses” segment. We see more than our share of miracles at Horse-Angels; as a result of past miracles, we expect success when all those around us say “This one is hopeless.” Yet, the most awesome and emotional miracles here are those that reveal the enormity of a horse’s love for a human. I am now certain that the horses that come here don’t come by some random course of events, but rather are sent by God for a specific human. Over and over I see humans draw courage, confidence, joy, and faith from a horse that followed a complex path to get here. An example might explain what I mean:
In late 2008, a local magazine ran a short article on Horse-Angels Rescue, and a few days after it published, a man named Earl called and asked if he could be a volunteer. He was retired and bored, loved horses, and had owned a perfect horse once. Earl came out to meet me, and said he’d like to assist daily with morning feeding. Earl was 70 years old, and I expected that driving every a.m. for 40 minutes in the dark, and helping me with the 3 hours of feeding and medicating would soon lose its appeal. Well, months passed and I truly looked forward every morning to Earl’s company and help. One morning Earl asked if he could adopt a horse and leave it here to board. I don’t have room for boarders because they take a space that could house a rescue horse, so I told Earl his horse would have to have a problem that made it an unadoptable resident. Rideable unadoptables are rare, but if one came in, it would be Earl’s horse.
Earl was patient, and I assured him that if he was supposed to have a horse, it would come. Horses came and went. One that came in from a humane society was a 5 year old gelding named Spirit, with a large mass just under a front fetlock that had been biopsied as proud flesh. Spirit is a common rescue name and I just couldn’t handle another. I told Earl that it was time to honor a horse with the name of our most loyal volunteer! Spirit became Earl. Earl the Horse was anemic, skinny, and needed numerous surgeries. Earl the Man held supplies and assisted with every procedure. Repeated biopsies came back as proud flesh, and eventually the leg was normal in appearance, and Earl the Horse was healthy. He was an amazing ride! He had to have been trained and ridden by a skilled equestrian! He was adopted promptly, but the adopter could not come pick up his new horse for a few weeks. Before that time passed, new lesions appeared at the site of the proud flesh! Earl the Horse was anesthetized again and it appeared that some of the growth was diving deep into the nerve and vessel areas of the fetlock. I needed another, deeper biopsy, and another vet to assist on such a potentially damaging surgery! I hauled Earl and Earl to the surgery suite of an equine specialist, and we discovered that the rapidly growing masses were traveling deep into the vital structures of the fetlock instead of outward at the skin level. Proud flesh does not behave in this way. A deep biopsy was obtained and the result came back a cancer, “malignant sarcoid.” Earl the Horse would require ongoing therapy, and therefore became unadoptable. Earl the Man adopted Earl the Horse, causing some confusion in communicating around the barn! “Which Earl do you mean, the man or the horse?”
Earl the Horse was young and liked to move, especially back to the barn! I let some of our equestrian volunteers ride him to keep him quieter for Earl the Man, but every rider had trouble. Earl the Man said he could handle those issues and in his typical stubborn manner, saddled Earl and went out alone on the trail. I watched secretly through binoculars, and guess what? Earl the horse was walking carefully and slowly, even when aimed at the barn! If we put any other rider on Earl, he tries his tricks and he begs for a canter, but he keeps his Earl safe.
In the last year, Earl the Horse has developed numerous sarcoid tumors and he is on both traditional and holistic treatments. The tumors have never shown up in the girth or saddle areas, and he loves his rides when Earl the Man is up to it. It may be a while now before Earl the Man can think about a ride, as last week he was diagnosed with colon cancer, and has a long road of radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery ahead. He came out to see Earl the Horse before he went to the hospital for his first treatment, and they spent an hour together just grooming and talking. When Earl the Man left he said “Well, I have cancer like Earl. He and I are going to fight our cancer together. He doesn’t worry about it because he can’t change it anyway; I think I’ll handle it that way too”.
What are the chances that a 5 year old talented horse would have to stay here for his lifetime? What are the chances that we would name a horse after Earl and then have Earl get to adopt him? What are the chances that a horse battling cancer would be adopted by a man who would need that horse’s love and courage to guide him in his own cancer battle? Perhaps Earl the Horse is the one that adopted Earl the Man? All I know is that the horse treats Earl differently than any other rider; he protects him and stops if he feels Earl’s balance shift. I am sure Earl the horse is right where he belongs, and at just the right time. Yes, he must be an angel! A horse-angel!
See our website, www.horse-angels.org if you would like to send Earl the Man (or Earl the Horse) a note of encouragement!
