when you feel like giving up- GET UP!

Haze is a tall, chestnut Thoroughbred gelding. He has been with us a very long time and is almost 30 years old. I have always referred to him as my soulmate because we are both a bit accident prone. He gets a lot of unexplainable bumps, bruises, and scrapes but just keeps right on going- most days.

There have been a couple times that Haze has fallen down and has struggled to return to his feet due to circumstances. Circumstances like yesterday when he fell down. One minute he was coming for grain and the next minute he was on the ground. He quickly tried to get up, legs scrambling to get underneath, but with his cumbersome blanket, snow, some ice, he gave up quickly. He plopped his head down and said, "I'll just die here." (remember he is almost 30 and he is a chestnut).

I won't lie, as I watched the scene, I thought, I think he had a stroke and I better call the vet to put him down. Quietly, he laid in the snow, eyes not panicking, nostrils not flaring, just calm and peaceful. Many thoughts rushed through my mind (as they usually do) in a split second:

He has given up,

is his blanket caught somewhere,

I have to tell my daughters he died, he is their horse

It is too cold to call the vet today and put a horse down...

I looked at him and sternly said, Stop this, GET UP!!!

And, he sprung to his feet and walked over to eat his grain. Once he had calmed down, and with encouragement, it made getting up a lot easier.

Sometimes, we just need someone to say, GET UP. I didn't panic and run to him- I am old also. Instead, I stood close by him and told him it wasn't time to give up yet. The struggle is real, but it isn't time to let it all go.

Whatever you are going through right now. The pain, economy, worldview... whatever it is... I have two kind words for you, "Get up."