In Memory of Calla Lily
This beautiful mare's illness
came swiftly and unexpectedly on that sad Saturday in January. In my heart,
earlier that morning, I knew we were going to loose her, but in my mind I
resisted that possibility at every turn. I held on to hope in the form of
I.V. bags, drenches and the concerted efforts and prayers of our veterinarian,
family and special friends that Lily would show signs of responding.
In a matter of hours, the heart-wrenching decision to put Lily down and end
her suffering had to be made. A friend of my daughter Deidre sent her this
thought;
"To love
and loose is always hard, but to be free on wings of no pain and suffering
is a gift we may only hope to receive...".
Lily spent the first four
years of her life at Rocking Horse Stables in Wendover, Ontario. My fifteen
year old daughter Deidre and I drove up there, from Beaverton, to meet Lily
for the first time at the end of May, 2003. This was a very important trip
for us because we had been looking for that special horse that could be both
my trail horse and Deirdre's competition horse and we believed that Lily
could be the one. Being 3/4 Connemara and 1/4 Thoroughbred, she had the look
of the beautiful Connemara and the slight height advantage of the Thoroughbred.
Needless to say, it was love at first sight and we didn't even care if her
ears were a touch too long!
So, Lily went on to become
a much loved member of our family from that time until now.
We enjoyed seeing her grow and learn new things while the bonds
between her and us became more and more solid. She definitely was our "forever"
special horse! We even had a stallion picked out for her. Her loss was
devastating. Someone told us recently that once in a while the special horses
don't always stay around for a long time but that she must have come into
our lives at a time when we needed her. I will hold onto that thought whenever
I find myself starting to ask for answers as to what ended her
life.
This was to be the summer
that Lily and Deidre would begin to show more seriously. She had already
given me many wonderful trail rides but it was time to get her ready for
some jumping work. I am so glad that we did manage to take her into one schooling
show last September. She showed us how adaptable and willing she could be
in new situations. The picture in this article was taken at that very same
show. I was proud of both of my girls even if the colour of the ribbons that
came home were not red!
It is so hard to say goodbye.
Lily, we love you, we miss you, and we will never forget you. You were our
best teacher. Thank you for everything!
Diane Van Keulen
P.S. It has almost been
a month since Lily died and I wrote this tribute to go into the Canadian
Connemara Newsletter. I still feel her loss and tears come easily when I
think of her.
I know time is a healer and it has helped us so much to hear similar stories
from other people who understand how devastating losing a horse can be. Thank
you to all!
Calla Lily 
