Just thinking about it made me tear up…
Funny you should mention it, I found a pic of you and I the other day from way back when…
The day Penny leaves me will be a very very dark day
I have saved tails from my saddlebred Cleo and also from my shetland Sierra. I know one day I will make something with them. Unfortunately I may be adding another tail shortly.
so sad
I lost my sweet old guy Nomad last October at 36 years old. My friend came, she didn’t want me to wait with him alone and she loved him too, she and her daughter had both ridden him before, her daughter even showed him before I bought him. She took some of his hair and then I did too.
She told me that there’s a place in Kennett Square, PA that does something special with the hair. The store she referred me to was The Horse Place I think, a small tack shop.
By the way Jaegermonster, how did the books, Lady Blows a Horn about Mrs. Hannum go over? I know where you can get more, and cheaper. A friend of mine has some, she owns the Merry Go Round Room at Devon.
I’ll second www.horsehairmemorypots.com by Ida. She made me a stunning little pot with my mare’s hair and needed very little. I didn’t take a lot to start with, but had enough to have a necklace and bracelet braided by a local gal (you can find her on http://www.saddlefitter.com/horse_hair_jewlery.htm ). I had to wait a couple days after receiving them to call and thank her because every time I looked at them I started crying. I chose a very simple design but they are so lovely…I’m almost afraid to wear them sometimes!
It may take a little time, but I’m sure your friend will appreciate it.
I am another one who wasn’t interested in the hair. I realized I had very few pictures 
I have always been the picture taker in the family, and I have always loved putting them in albums and looking at them to remember special days, but had no pictures of me and Heart, and that is all I wanted. My daughter had pictures that her boyfriend had taken that I didn’t even know she had and made me a beautiful collage with sayings written in calligraphy. It is the most beautiful and wonderful thing anyone could have given me.
The books were a huge hit! Our huntsman/JtMFH won one of the books (I kept the other) and was just amazed that i had found one and very impressed that it was signed 
thanks susan
Champ is gone. His passing was very peaceful and uneventful. His mom was unable to be there so I was with him and helped him to go. I patted his face and ears as he went and told him that his mom loved him so much that she could not be there with him. He had a nice bath and lots of carrots before he left, and we remembered to get some of his tail and his halter.
edited to clarify: his mom was present at the farm, in the house. She was too upset to hold the leadrope, not a judgement at all. She loved him enough to make the decision that needed to be made , that is enough. I was with him, that is what friends do.
I am sure he knows she loved him, and it is very understandable she simply couldn’t see it. What a wonderful friend you are to have been there for her.
A poem
I found this poem, I don’t know who wrote it, but I"m sure many of us can use it.
Where to bury a horse
If you bury him in this spot,
the secret of which you must already have,
he will come when you call-
come to you over the far, dim pastures of death,
And down the remembered paths to your side again
And though you ride other living horses through life,
They shall not shy at him or resent him coming,
For he is yours and he belongs there.
People may scoff at you,
Who see no lightest blade of grass bent
By his footfall,
Who hear no nicker pitched too fine for insensitive ears
People who may never really love a horse;
smile at them, then
For you shall know something that is hidden from them,
and which is well worth knowing:
The one place to bury a horse is in the heart of his mistress.
-Author unknown
[QUOTE=DressageGeek “Ribbon Ho”;3422604]
I am sure he knows she loved him, and it is very understandable she simply couldn’t see it. What a wonderful friend you are to have been there for her.[/QUOTE]
Oh man, she is a wonderful trainer and has truly become my friend. I cried as though he were my own, and I had actually never even seen the horse before. I"m such a weenie.
My DH was a saint. We had rented a backhoe with a bucket to do some work around here, and he took it over to her place and spent the afternoon digging the hole.
It truly was time, but the passing of such a noble animal is always sad.
That is a stunning piece of poetry. I am going to print it out and give it to my friend who just lost her Toby. We’ll all be bawling.
OK, thanks so much T… as I sit here crying my eyes out. The grass is just now starting to grow over where we buried Chloe and we’ve had rain every single day since she passed. Seeing that raw spot in the earth is just… hard. Hugs to your friend, I was there when Chloe went, but I couldn’t touch her or be next to her, when the vet came with the needle I had to back away so I know how she felt. I msut say though my vet and his assitant were both VERY compassionate to both me and Chloe.
I got an email from the last person that had Chloe out of the blue about 2 weeks after I had her put down and she had sent me some photos of her at her barn when she was all pregnant and dappled and shiney. THAT was awesome. I’m sure whatever you end up getting for her (or doing for her) she will treasure always - even if she doesn’t know she wants it, she’ll be glad when she gets it.
It makes me so happy to know that the books were a hit and they made you happy. I think about your offer to ride on the beach and picture that ride in my mind even though I would probably never go to FL again. It’s an image I enjoy. Thanks for putting it in my brain. :yes:
It’s a sad ocassion when you lose a trusty friend, heartbreaking. I think the place in Kennett uses the hair to weave it into belts, and other interesting places. I know it’s not the store that does it but a local person and it’s supposed to be beautiful, not horribly expensive, maybe $35-50 or so depending on what you want done. I will someday look into it. Don’t clean the hair.
I’ve stood with a friend at this sad time and it’s really a hard thing to see the sadness in the person who loves their horse and then no there’s no coming back. It’s hard if you find them in the pasture as I did Nomad or if you have to make the decision, it’s just hard, they’re our friends. Just as when you lose a house pet, when you love them it hurts.
It hurts to watch all the animals even those that are not my own, that die needlessly, the cats, dogs and horses by the thousand. That makes me cry just thinking about it.
Jaeger, I’m late to the party, but wanted to say how sorry I am about your friend and her horse.
I had a bracelet made from some of Conny’s tail hair. I used Solenaro Designs, and am very pleased with the piece of jewelry Mr. Banks made to commemorate my boy.
Hugs, prayers, and healing thoughts to you and your friend.
Run free, out of pain, and young again, good horse.
Thank you very much. We still miss him, but it was definitely the right thing to do.
Here are some keepsake memorial boxes to place pieces of hair in and halter plates etc. They can be personalized too with your own picture and text.
http://www.cafepress.com/paintingpony/3888681
Thanks so much. I think I am going to ask the MOds if they can put this in the archives. Unfortunately it is something that all of us can use one day
Excellent suggestion, Jaegermonster. We’ll leave the thread here for now because it’s still active and move it over to the Reference Forum in a few weeks.
Best wishes to you and your friend,
Mod 1
I would like to third and fourth Ida’s lovely work. Last night we gave Karen Toby’s memory pot, along with the poem posted here - we were all just bawling. I felt such a sense of “rightness” when Karen held the vase up to her cheek, and just said, “My boy, my boy.” Toby had a gorgeous tail and Karen was justifiably very proud of it, so a memory pot made out of his tail hair had special meaning. I shouldn’t even say pot - they’re bigger, they’re vases.
Here’s Toby’s pot, and one I had made (a smaller with a top) for Ted.
Not much you can do when it is time for a horse to cross the Bridge, but there are ways to help the humans left behind.
Thanks Mod1. I’m sure others will appreciate it.
And DGRH, those pots are beautiful.
we aren’t sure yet what we are going to do with the hair, I plan to ask one of the other students if they want to go in with me on one of the items
