12/20/2025
This is what many people don’t want to deal with: aging, the slowing down and the extra steps it takes each day to keep an older horse going. It’s sitting in the barn long after the rest of the chores are done, waiting patiently while they work through their warm mash, knowing their teeth aren’t what they used to be and their body needs more time than it once did. It’s listening to the steady sound of them chewing while the world slows down around you. It’s realizing that what used to take minutes now takes patience.
It’s watching joints stiffen on cold mornings and standing there longer than planned, giving them time to loosen up before asking anything of them. It’s layering blankets just right, checking weather reports more closely than ever, adjusting and readjusting because comfort matters now more than convenience. It’s scooping supplements, soaking feed, scheduling farrier visits more carefully, and noticing every small change, because the small things matter most.
It isn’t always easy. Some days it’s exhausting. Some days it hurts to see the years written so clearly on a body that once felt unstoppable. But they gave you everything they had. They gave you their best year, their strength, their soundness, their heart. They carried you when they didn’t have to. They trusted you without hesitation. They showed up on days when you didn’t deserve it and forgave you when you made mistakes. They taught you patience, courage, and humility long before they ever needed it in return. They gave without question or complaint.
So when their steps slow and their needs grow, this is where we show who we really are. This is where love looks like time, like consistency, like choosing them even when it’s inconvenient. Love looks like staying late, spending more, doing more, and asking for nothing back.
The least we can do is give them patience, kindness, and dignity in their twilight years. To make sure they are warm, comfortable and safe. To let them age without fear or neglect, surrounded by the same care they gave us so freely.
Because they carried us.
Because they earned It
Because they deserve nothing less.
