Goodbye, old friend
Today my family said goodbye to Buster, perhaps the best animal companion we’ve ever had. We got Buster in the spring of 1992, when he was 11. He didn’t come with papers of any kind, and he wasn’t really distinguishable as any particular breed, so we called him our Heinz 57 horse. I used him for two seasons of Horse 4-H, Pony Club, and horse shows before handing him down to my brother McKay to do the same.
A couple of pictures from those glory days:
Over the subsequent years, Buster served our family well. He carried my dad across many miles of the Western United States in a sesquicentennial re-enactment of the Mormon pioneer exodus. He hauled a few elk out of the wilderness for my brother, Matthew. My mom enjoyed many trail rides and a few riding lessons on him. And my nieces and nephews all took their turns riding him around our little arena and the land around our house.
A couple more pictures:
A few things I’ll always remember about Buster:
- That he would only poop in the corners of our arena, and trained every horse that ever lived with him to do the same.
- How McKay used to have to growl like a tiger to get him to jump.
- How he would follow me around like a puppy and press his nose into my back when I did work in the arena.
- That he always had a few bucks in him that had to be worked out every spring, and he got frisky when it rained.
- How he hated to have his nose and ears touched and the swift motion I had to use to put a bridle or halter on him.
We found out a few years after we got him that Buster had been glue-factory bound when the horse trader who sold him to us bought him. I can’t imagine who would have wanted to get rid of him, but I am thankful for the turn of events that saved his life and gave him 17 more years with our family.
Enjoy the rest, old buddy. You deserve it.
5 Responses to “ Goodbye, old friend”
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Ali says:
October 30th, 2009 at 19:14
I will miss him
He was a good horse, a real all rounder and was always careful and polite to me.
Very sad day.
Ashley R says:
October 30th, 2009 at 21:47
I remember him! Good horses are the best. I have many up in heaven that he can go hang out with.
Marc says:
October 31st, 2009 at 22:07
I don’t get along with horse as a general rule – don’t like that they can at some point decide to injure you if they want to – but really enjoyed your eulogy for ol’ Buster. And as far as horses go, he was a good one.
rachel says:
November 5th, 2009 at 6:24
Awww…I’m so sorry
What a great post. You’re right – losing an animal is horribly sad and heartbreaking. It sounds like Buster was a great horse who had a great life.
McKay says:
December 31st, 2009 at 13:57
Grrrrrrr!!!!