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Written by Dr. Tim Potter
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 One of the most frustrating things that I see today is blatant disrespect by children of their elders. While all of us have had the occasional disrespectful slip, sadly today we see far too many examples where disrespect is the norm.
Nick is a very strong-willed, independent gelding that is by and large antisocial. He is perfectly happy to be left alone with copious amounts of fresh hay and water, and has very little need or desire to be around other horses. As a result, he stays in a pasture by himself, as we have found him far too aggressive to be around the other horses. He would be very likely to corner one of them and hurt them before he stopped, so Shawn and I eliminate the problem by keeping him to himself.
Killer was the elder statesman of the herd, a big elegant Thoroughbred gelding that had been there, done that in the show ring and throughout his twenty-four years. He developed laminitis in both front feet last fall and we did our best to keep him medicated and as comfortable as possible. We knew that the end would eventually come, but we wanted to give him as much time with as much dignity as we could.
The last month of Killer’s life was a whirlwind of emotion for me and especially Shawn, who had owned him for eighteen years. Some mornings, he looked fairly comfortable, while others told us that he was nearing his finish line. Shawn’s attitude was that he would let us know when he had enough, and we would do everything we could for him in the meantime.
Nick apparently sensed that the end was near as well. For the last three days before Killer was euthanized, Nick spent the majority of his time standing just outside Killer’s stall, quietly watching and observing, as if to comfort him. We noticed piles of hay in Nick’s pasture that were virtually untouched, and it was obvious that he had been right there for most of the day. Nick showed a tremendous respect for his elder in that case. 1 Timothy 5:17 says “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine”. We would be well suited to follow Nick’s example in our daily interactions today with our elders. They deserve that much.
Dr. Tim Potter
www.ministryonhorseback.com
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Last Updated on Monday, 06 April 2009 17:10 |
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