Remembrance

therubbercurrycomb

I went to an event recently that I never thought I would go to. Not because I`m against it, but because I had never heard of the concept.

I was invited to the wake of my friend`s horse. The mare was very elderly but the end had come very suddenly and now that my friend had started clearing her field and stable, she suggested that she held a bit of a party at the local pub.

Quite pleased that I was one of the select few invited, I turned up a little bit late having been waylaid by one of my equine clients. There were no more than half a bakers dozen of us, and we had a drink, chatted about memories of the mare over a basket of chips and then we had lunch and put the world to rights.

Initially I wasn`t sure what the wake would entail, or whether it was necessary, but now I realise why it is such an important event for equines as well as humans.

  1. When you have a major life change, such as moving house, you don`t see your friends as frequently. This is the same when you lose your horse, especially when they have been with you for twenty years. You no longer have the need to be at the yard for hours of the day, so you miss out on socialising with other horsey people and have a big hole left in your day. After all, you may lose your horse, but you don`t lose your interest in equines. So having a wake is a good reason to see your friends, and can perhaps trigger frequent ladies lunches.
  2. A wake is the opportunity to thank anyone who has been involved in your horse`s life, anyone who has helped care for them, or been a moral support to you. 
  3. It`s a good opportunity to reflect on the life of your horse – much as we do with humans. My friend had put together a book of all her photos of her horse, which elicited a good few memories.
  4. It makes the end of an era, and gives you a good final memory of your horse.

So whilst I wouldn`t expect every horse owner to have a wake, if your horse was particularly special to you and meant a huge life change would be made, then I can imagine it`s a satisfying and very rewarding thing to do.

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