Love Who You Love
By A K Simon
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16th Mar 2010 •
2,371 views
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9 comments
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Every girl wants a horse at one point in their lives, and when I was eight, I was lucky enough to get one. He was a 28 year old bay gelding, named Bay. We bought him with the name, and never changed it. We liked it, and we are not sure why. It just fit the old' guy.
I never had thought of using him in shows, and we never did. He was a cow chaser, and that was his favorite activity. In the third picture, you can tell how excited he got when he had just finished chasing some of our Herefords. His eyes got big, his ears pricked, and he would get very excited.
When I was in 3rd grade, I wrote a 9 page book about an adventure I wanted to have with Bay called "Just another Day with Bay". It was about us going back to the time of pioneers. I got first place, and I was only proud of Bay.
In 4th grade, I brought my Girl Scout troop to our farm to learn how to care for and ride a horse, in this case, how to care for a horse named Bay. Every girl loved him instantly. They were all over Sweet Bay. In my troop, there was a girl and her sister, named Kali and Kori. Both had never ridden any kind of animal, not even those ponies you can ride at the carnival. They were a bit reluctant to get on, but I convinced them to try riding him. When they had finished their turns, they jumped off of Bay and hugged him. They LOVED riding Bay, and wanted another turn, so we let them. It was magic. We went to a play date with him, and performed brilliantly. He was magnificent, but I was not riding him. I was riding the sorrel pictured, named Cody. My sister was riding Bay. I was surprised how well he did for never doing anything like a completion before.
After the play date, we mostly used him for chasing cows. We cared for him well, and when winter came, he had to be put in the barn, separate from his buddies Geno and Cody, so Bay could eat his special oats and senior horse pellets. We loved Bay because we knew with him being so old, he would need special treatment. We didn’t want the worst to happen.
On February 15, 2010, the worst happened. When my sister and I went outside to feed Bay that night, we poured his mix into the feed pan, but Bay wouldn’t eat. We tried getting him to drink, too, but he wouldn’t drink either. I looked closer at him. He was sweating heavily and he had thick snot streaming from his soft nostrils. I almost screamed. My Sweet Bay had colic. My mom called my dad, who, unfortunately, was at a bull sale 30 minutes from our house. He came as quickly as he could. When he got home, we called the nearest vets, who were both unavailable. They couldn’t do much anyway for our Sweet Bay. They gave us advice to try to save him, and we kept him walking and followed their instructions, but we couldn’t save him. When he lay down for the last time, I held his neck tight and kissed his face as the light left his eyes. I cried.
We never thought Bay would die that way. When I listen to “Breath” by Taylor Swift, it reminds me how I felt. I realized that I thought Bay would never die. But, when I think about it, he really hasn’t died. He will live forever inside my heart. I also remember the lesson he taught me Love Who You Love, With All That You Have. These words come from “Love Who You Love” by Rascal Flatts. I hope that Bay’s story gave you a lesson that you should love everyone with everything you for as long as you can, because it is such an important lesson, in my opinion. I hope you agree!
Thanks for listening!
Bayandme
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Equestri
Great article :D Very well-written. Makes me want a horse now more than ever :D Lol
Great article :D Very well-written. Makes me want a horse now more than ever :D Lol
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17 days ago
• 1,830 views
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Bright Horizon
Goodness, it gave me chills reading this! Very well-written, Bay sounds like an awesome horse!
Goodness, it gave me chills reading this! Very well-written, Bay sounds like an awesome horse!
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17 days ago
• 1,833 views
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unknown12345
OH sorry he died but you done a great job !!!!!!!!!!!!!1
OH sorry he died but you done a great job !!!!!!!!!!!!!1
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17 days ago
• 1,815 views
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Dreamer100
Love those you love, and much as you can, while you still can! Great lesson! Bay sounded great! Very well- written also!
Love those you love, and much as you can, while you still can! Great lesson! Bay sounded great! Very well- written also!
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16 days ago
• 1,800 views
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Oaky
Great post! I feel the very same way as you because on Thursday last week my neighbor's (I help feed her animals) 33 year old mare, Scarlet, died. I was obviously upset, especially since she took a liking to me the instant I met her three months ago. I got her from the point of being terribly frightened of a halter to not even flinching when I placed it on her head. Now all my neighbor has that is in the equine family is her donkey, Buddy. I am so glad that I got to spend the time with her I did, and I am so happy that you posted this! =)
Great post! I feel the very same way as you because on Thursday last week my neighbor's (I help feed her animals) 33 year old mare, Scarlet, died. I was obviously upset, especially since she took a liking to me the instant I met her three months ago. I got her from the point of being terribly frightened of a halter to not even flinching when I placed it on her head. Now all my neighbor has that is in the equine family is her donkey, Buddy. I am so glad that I got to spend the time with her I did, and I am so happy that you posted this! =)
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16 days ago
• 1,865 views
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bambam roxs
very true i agree!iM SORYY he died but atleast he got to spend a great life with you!
very true i agree!iM SORYY he died but atleast he got to spend a great life with you!
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16 days ago
• 1,809 views
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Folly
I'm so sorry about Bay :( It's sounds like you had great times with him and he looks absolutley gorgeous! This article is really good, beautifully written. :)
I'm so sorry about Bay :( It's sounds like you had great times with him and he looks absolutley gorgeous! This article is really good, beautifully written. :)
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15 days ago
• 1,931 views
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Golden Juniper
Bay seems like he was a very special horse! I'm sorry that he died but he was lucky to have you as an owner! Beautifully written!
Bay seems like he was a very special horse! I'm sorry that he died but he was lucky to have you as an owner! Beautifully written!
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11 days ago
• 1,813 views
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Apr 13, 2012
• 1,804 views
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