"Going to California With An Aching in My Heart"

I took a new route on my run today and found a gravel road winding up a hill in the middle of Murrieta. It was a little piece of country tucked into the city, complete with orchards, llama farms, and horse farms. And it was just what I needed. 

Today's run was therapy. It was a chance to be alone for an hour and say my long distance goodbye to a loyal horse that started out as a big, clumsy baby needing to grow into his long legs and ended up a beauty. Splash was stunning, even when he was clumsy. His height and his spots drew attention where ever he went.

Splash started out as a show horse--we won quite a few ribbons together!--but he spent the majority of his career as the lead horse of a riding program for handicapped equestrians. He knew when to be the gentle leader for a rider, and he knew when to challenge a rider. Under saddle, he was the perfect western horse and a tolerant sidesaddle horse. He pulled carts, rode in parades, and stood patiently for hundreds of demonstrations. He was beautiful and strong, but unable to beat the disease that took him far too quickly. 

So when I got the phone call from my mom in Minnesota saying Splash had to be put down while I was so far away, I went running. I wasn't expecting to see horses, but as I rounded a corner on the gravel road with Splash on my mind I inhaled the wonderful scent of two grazing horses just as my iPod played the Led Zeppelin lyrics "Going to California with an aching in my heart." Until today, I didn't realize horse farms were just a stone's throw away, but I stumbled upon them at just the right time. I needed to smell that comfortable, warm scent of horses as they grazed. 

As I've said before, the distance is toughest at times like these. I can't be in Minnesota to say my final farewells, or be with him to the final moment, or help Mom through this, and I definitely have an aching in my heart...

"There's nothing so good for the inside of a man as the outside of a horse." - Ronald Reagan