What happens to our horses (and animals) when they die? Does the thought of your horse crossing the Rainbow bridge comfort you?
In December 2013 I had to have my mare euthanised. The whole thing had been very traumatic – she was injured as a result of neighbours letting off fireworks, and couldn’t recover. I took it very hard and very many tears were shed. The thought of her ‘crossing the rainbow bridge’ wasn’t much comfort to me I have to say, and I was finding it hard to move past the trauma. I also wasn’t sure if I would know when it was time to look for another horse.
A month or so later, in the meditation group I was part of at the time, I had started my meditation by thinking, “Help me know when the right horse appears for me, and please let me have some joy again.” We then had a visit from a spirit with some advice for me.
“What’s this thing about joy, why do you need joy? You people are very odd.”
He said that in his ‘world‘, he just ‘was‘, that he was peaceful by nature and didn’t understand these spikes of emotion.
“Why can’t you humans be more accepting?”
We said that there had been an attachment to the horse, and grief of a loss.
He said,
“But there is no loss. She may have lost her friend, this horse, in this life. But nothing ends. She’s still there. The energy is still around”
I was shown the analogy of a friend getting on a train and going away somewhere. We wouldn’t be together any more, but they’re still ‘there’ and we’re still friends.
“She’s just somewhere else doing something else. Your concept of death limits you. Just accept it. This person, by saying that the relationship has ended in death, she’s causing herself grief. Just accept that the relationship has changed, not ended. There’s no need to feel these spikes of emotion.”
As I drove home that night, I saw Tay, my mare, galloping alongside my car.
Right now my 4 of my animal companions are elderly, and I’ve been thinking about loss and the inevitable grief recently, so it’s timely for me to get this reminder.
That’s not to say it will be any easier… we are human after all… but, this perspective might just help me – and, I hope, you, to cope when the time comes.
Trisha x
If you’re worried that your horse is nearing the end of its life, getting elderly, or you’re not sure how you’ll know when it’s ‘time’… check out my free End Of Life Checklist, or contact me to book a session and we’ll find out from your horse how it’s feeling.
About Trisha
Trisha Wren has been an equine professional for most of her adult life. She rode, competed, and taught Western Riding for 15 years in Scotland, then horse and rider bio-mechanics in New Zealand and Australia for 10 years. She’s been a full time horse communicator and healer since April 2016. Find out more about Trisha here and sign up for her self paced Animal Communication course here.