I haven't posted this for a month. Just because I didn't want to believe it was true.

10/3/08 George lost the fight. The bone had begun going through all 4 of his hooves. We were forced to put him down.

I lost my best friend. My everything. He was all that meant anything in my life.
Below is our story.

George will always be my everything. He taught me how to smile, how to trust, and how to love. He was so optimistic. Everyday despite the pain, he was always happy. He loved life and everything about it. Even when he couldn’t have anything but hay, you would just walk into the hay stall and his entire face would light up. There was never a sad day in that silly horse’s life. To him, life was interesting. Life was a thing to explore and to learn from. It brought new discoveries and trouble for him to get into.
That George face, there was something so different about it. Maybe it was the way his eyes would widen, like a boy unwrapping gifts on Christmas morning whenever he heard the crinkle of treats. Or maybe it was those deep brown ears up against his snow-white face. That nose of his too, his crooked blaze that lead to his velvet pink nose. I’ve never seen nostrils so big on a horse before. There was something odd about that nose. It had a certain sweet smell no other horse has. His nose was always the most kissable and not just because he was mine. There was just something so satisfying about giving that dork a kiss.
He taught me the most important lessons of my life. These will never leave me and I am so thankful to have shared them with him. From working with George, I learned to be myself and be proud of who I am. I learned to never give up from him. I know that there is nothing wrong with not being best. There’s no reason to be ashamed of yourself. As long as you show passion and love for whatever it is you are doing, you will succeed. Accomplishments take time. They take trust and a foundation. Despite how distant the end of the tunnel seems, the light will always come. You just need to believe.
George taught me how to ride. He somehow made me get over the fear I had of riding. I knew I could trust him. Even on our last ride, as I asked him to gallop home he paused. His ears flicked sideways as I gave him the reins, as if asking if I really wanted that and making sure I was going to stay on. I have become a better rider from him. With his light mouth, I learned to give. From his random bucks or off days, I learned to forgive. After obstacles and obstacles, I learned not to give up. There are so many lessons. Though most of all, George taught me I was different. I am special. He made me proud of myself. He helped me want to hold on through all the hard times. I feel so blessed and so proud of who I am today all because of that wonderful boy who walked into my life.
I will miss those George stories. From the time he ate tinfoil to the time on the trails where he kept screaming to a stupid chicken, thinking it was a horse. I will miss his character. Just like when he was smart enough to simply step to the side as Riley flew by, unable to turn to bite or kick him. George had that simple charm to him. His intelligence would get him into everything and his personality would get him out of whatever trouble he found himself in. Despite the dents, cracks, and tears in objects, you couldn’t stay mad at him. It was always the oddest things that he managed to do. From where there were no limits and you never were surprised when you heard of what new thing George discovered.
I will remember every instant I was with him for. Everything he did. I am glad those 3 years of my life were spent with him and no one else. George was my rock. He was the one I went to when the world was crashing down. From his licks that left me breathless with laughter to the nose that searched my pockets, jacket, and untied my shoes.
I am happy the last 3 years of his life were spent the way they were. That he never had an empty stomach. He always had a loving owner who was there for him every step of the way. And he never felt fear or sadness from neglect. I always had a fear that at some point in my life I wouldn’t be able to afford to keep him. I couldn’t stand the thought of not being able to know that he was safe each night. It was so hard to imagine that he may not have gotten the love that he deserved if I ever had to sell him.
I am so thankful for the day I saw him step from that stall at Strains. I am elated to have found him, he has changed my life.

I am happy to know that he is not going to feel pain anymore. Through all the fighting he has done for us he will now have an escape. He deserves to be happy. He’s made me happy and that is all I ever wanted for him as well. I know he began to slip at the end; we were slowly losing the parts of him that made him George. I don’t want him to be remembered as what he was the last few days, but as the emotions he embodied throughout his life with us.
I can now look forward to knowing that he is going to be in heaven, annoying the shit out of all the other Four Winds Horses. Doing just what he has done these past 3 years. In the end, I cannot picture him any other way.
My last moments I spent with him were the most meaningful of my life. I remember starting to sing him a song.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You are my sunshine, forever and always
So please don’t take my sunshine away
For the moment I was singing, he picked his head up from his hay. He stood there looking at me. Just listening to the song I sang him a few weeks back. I remember that time when he fell asleep in my arms. Here I was singing it again, with him motionless, just listening. I then patted him on his nose, gave him one last kiss, and I walked away. I remember seeing his face through the bars watching me leave. Just like he used to do every day. This time it felt so different.
I am no good at goodbyes. What I do know is that it was the hardest one I’ve ever had to say.

I was lucky to be touched by an angel, and that angel was named George.
He is my star.
My sunshine.
My everything.


We have decided to cremate him. He was going to live in Oregon or Virginia with me. One day I will find a spot for him. I will search the world to find this spot if I need to. He deserves it all. I don’t know when I’ll find it, but it’ll be where everything is perfect and it feels as though he is at home. He'll be somewhere in a valley, with mountains in the distance. Under an old tree. Maybe with a cool brook nearby. He always loved his water.
Right where my boy belongs.

You’re everything I wanted
In every single way
Everything I’d give
Is everything you couldn’t take