Words for Horse Lovers

Words are hard to find when someone dies. We struggle to say something that will provide comfort, when we know that nothing we can say will really help. Often we don't say anything, worried that our words won't be good enough.

I find myself in a similar situation when making my horse sympathy cards. I am the first to admit that I am more animal respecter than animal lover. But my sister is a true animal lover. Her whole life is devoted to making their lives (and deaths, sometimes) better.  Over the years, I have collected some good 'horse sympathy' sentiments like the ones used in these cards, from  Door County Rubber Stamps, along with the Starving Artistamps horse image.

When I made this card a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea how much meaning it could have for animal lovers. I made it as a cheerful card, but my sister immediately saw something else. A rainbow is the subject of a poem about animals, and is the perfect imagery for pet sympathy cards.

The Rainbow Bridge

inspired by a Norse legend

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,

Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.

Where the friends of man and woman do run,

When their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,

Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.

On this golden land, they wait and they play,

Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,

For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.

Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,

Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care,

Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.

All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,

Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met;

Together again, both person and pet.

So they run to each other, these friends from long past,

The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart,

Has turned into joy once more in each heart.

They embrace with a love that will last forever,

And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.

© 1998 Steve and Diane Bodofsky. All Rights Reserved