Farewell to Bobbi

Bobbi is a horse - a girl horse, which always seemed to confuse people. She is your typical appaloosa, with a leopard print over her haunches and a tiny, sorry excuse for a tail that futiley flick flies on warm summer months.

Bobbi, unlike most horses, has no eyes. It isn't that the eyelids are sewn shut, she actually doesn't have eyeballs. She lost the first as a young filly when she injured it on a stick. She lost the second at about mid-age (twelve-ish) when she got glaucoma and it was, likewise, removed. Bobbi isn't actually our horse - a nice gal named Stephanie owns her - and she is about four years older than me. I knew of her while growing up in 4-H, and Bobbi was a bit of a legend because, if I remember correctly, Stephanie not only showed her with just one eye, but she kept riding and showing her when Bobbi was totally blind.

There's something amazing about the bond between a horse and rider. You can't understand it unless you've had it - it isn't like a team, per se, in that horses obviously aren't human. But there is a closeness and a relationship - a way of communicating that is unique and a little sacred. There's also something special about growing up with a horse and learning with and from each other. Stephanie rode in my event - Trail - which is obstacle riding. You must have a tremendous amount of trust between horse and rider. For Bobbi to trust Stephanie over bridges and logs - around trees and through water - with no sight - was special indeed. I believe they even won the State Championship Stephanie's last year in 4-H.

All of that to say, Bobbi passed away tonight. When our stall worker went to bring her in she was laying on her side and wouldn't get up. She had colicked - it happens to cows and horses if they're too long on their sides, as their intenstines and internal organs can actually shift and twist. We called Stephanie and tried to keep Bobbi comfortable, but she wasn't going to make it. So, the vet put her down.

Bobbi has been at this place almost as long as we have. It's odd when a staple in your life is removed - like an old diner from high school or your favorite field being cleared for a housing development. First the trees, and now Bobbi.

Andy and I once had a long debate about whether or not pets would be in heaven (not animals, but our actual pets). I figure it's one of those things we'll figure out when we get there, and there isn't any Biblical evidence that they will be (which doesn't bode well for my fanciful idea Skyler will romp the fields of heaven). But wouldn't it be neat if someday Bobbi, with a flowing tail and two beautiful eyes, could go galloping through the new Earth?

So, here's goodbye to the horse that Hannah Wentling and Maggie Higgins will likely never forget. Even though I'm not fan of appolosas, here's to the best one I ever met.