Posted on Sep 09, 2014
By Ellie Laks, Founder of The Gentle Barn
In 2003, we met a horse that stole our hearts and we had to bring her home. She was in so much pain that she could barely walk because she had been ridden very hard and her body was destroyed. Even though she flinched when we lightly touched her, she was grateful, sweet, and kind, and we wanted to help her. We brought her home to The Gentle Barn and called her Cinnamon Apple Pie.
It took us months of acupuncture, ultrasound, massage therapy, and chiropractic care to get Cinnamon pain free and completely mobile. Once we accomplished that, she was on fire. Cinnamon would gallop around the pasture and flirt with all the young male horses and seemed full of life. Cinnamon loved being groomed and the minute we started brushing her she would close her eyes and hang her head down and drool as we brushed her tail until it was soft and untangled and gently brushed her body. Cinnamon would not open her eyes until we were done. We have had many horses who enjoyed being groomed but we have never met a horse that loved it quite like Cinnamon.
Cinnamon seemed very happy and well for 10 years with us, until one day last year when her breathing seemed shallow. We called the vet right away and after examining her, he told us that she was very ill, it seemed that she had internal bleeding caused by cancer, and there was no way to cure her.
We knew that we had to help her leave her body with dignity and grace. So, we said good-bye to our beautiful, sweet, kind, gentle, lovely Cinnamon Apple Pie as we thanked her for always being so loving to all of us. She seemed happy and ready to leave and she slipped away peacefully and easily. It has been a year already, but not smelling her sweet horsey scent, not giving her treats, and not looking into her deep eyes is still taking a lot of getting used to. Cinnamon might have been ready to leave her old body, but we were certainly not ready to see her go. We still miss her so much and are grateful to everyone who met her, loved her, cared for her, and made her feel special.
Even though it is hard to see animals leave us when it is their time, I would never trade the experience of knowing them or loving them for anything! I feel so grateful that Cinnamon chose our barnyard to live in and our family to love. Cinnamon was treated like a machine prior to coming to The Gentle Barn, and having the opportunity to heal her and show her the respect and dignity all beings deserve was an honor and a privilege. Thank you so much for supporting us so we can save, heal, and love animals like Cinnamon!
Written by Ellie Laks
Founder, The Gentle Barn