A Sad Farewell to Mr. Smith: born June 10, 1995; died July 31, 2022

 On July 31st, Mr. Smith, my 27 year old beloved Morgan gelding, died of apparent brain tumor. It has been hard to accept yet another loss in this year of losses. I really expected him to live at least as long as Pollianne, who died of colic at 33. But her daughter, Jessie Anne, died this spring of an intestinal tumor at 23. That is apparently not uncommon in middle-aged and older horses, and was probably what took Pollianne. But a brain tumor?? 

I have been trying to concentrate on all the wonderful years I had with Mr. Smith, having bought him as a 6 month old weanling on my 50th birthday. I had been without a horse for several years after losing my half-Morgan gelding, Impetuous, that I had raised from birth when I was a teenager. I was devastated when he died after being with me in high school, college, and marriage. He went with me from Illinois to Wyoming to Oregon. Imp lived a long and happy life, but never long enough. 

Years after Imp died, my grown son Kevin brought his girlfriend Jessica, a horse woman, here to visit and she insisted we go visit a Morgan farm nearby to see what they had for sale. They had weanlings and I fell in love with Rogue Hill's Skybird, who the breeder mistakenly thought had been registered as Rogue Hill's Senator. When the papers came back, he was Skybird, but I had already named Mr. Smith after my favorite senator: Jimmy Stewart in the movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Mr. Smith and I did everything together. In memory, here are the photos I have found of our years together... As I find them...  not in chronological order.   Farewell, dear friend...

Taking my dad for a drive on his 80th birthday in the cart he renovated for me from one Mom had bought for a lawn ornament

left to right: Nightingale, Jessie Anne, Mr. Smith

Mr. Smith drinking from the barn rain barrel

Mr. Smith and...

Nightingale and Jessie Anne in front of the machine shed

Mr. Smith giving Cedrus and Kestrel a ride... they are now teenagers! Polly in the background.

Mr. Smith pulling the surrey on a local road

Pulling out firewood

a comfortable bareback ride!

fly protection while pulling the surrey

pulling firewood logs

coming out of the woods faster than I wanted!

being a house guest when Aunt Frances, her daughter and grandkids visited. Mr. Smith loved coming inside the house when he was small enough to still get through the door.

jumping for fun in the arena. We also took jumping lessons elsewhere

from front to back: Jessie Anne, Mr. Smith, Polly

On the occasion of our combined 100th birthday in 2020...

Below is the last photo taken of Mr. Smith, shortly before his death on July 31st, 2022

...until we meet across the Rainbow Bridge...