Beau and Ugly
From the open skies of Wyoming, here’s this month’s short story about ranch life, an insight I learned from my family, and a piece of trivia.
Story
When I left the ranch and moved into town, what I missed most was spending time with horses. Then in 2011, I met my partner, Barb, who lived on eight acres along the Big Laramie River, where she pastured two aging horses, Beau and Ugly. Beau, her favorite mount, had lived alone until her uncle retired Ugly to the pasture shortly before I arrived.
The two horses did everything together, romping in the pasture, guarding us against predators, and eating oats in front of their small barn like they were going out of style. In the morning and evening, I would get them to come to the feeder by hollering, “Come, boys!” They would gallop from a quarter-mile away and kick into the air when they reached the corral and the oat bin, acting as if they were five again.
One day, Beau and Ugly were lying on the corral ground when I checked on them. They barely raised their heads off the ground, so I lay down between them, rested my head on Ugly’s shoulder, and slept for half an hour. Neither of them flinched when I disturbed their slumber.
I quickly fell in love with both of them.
By then, each horse was over thirty years old, so I knew them for only a few years. Beau was the first to get sick. The vet drove out and put him to sleep—one the hardest things Barb ever had to do, I think.
A friend came out with a front-end loader to dig a grave next to the body on the side hill above the house. We covered Beau with a tarp until the man was ready to push the animal into the grave.
As we waited, Ugly walked up to the grave site and leaned over the tarp as if to say goodbye to his old friend. Then he bit the corner of the plastic cover and pulled it off Beau’s head before touching Beau’s nose with his own.
I’d never seen a horse show such compassion.
Ugly got sick a couple of years later, so Barb fed him down in the pasture since he could no longer walk to the corral. She called the vet again, but before she arrived, Ugly ate his last meal: a peanut butter sandwich.
Beau and Ugly are buried next to each other on the side hill and will always be together.
Their friendship reminded me of the love and respect I had for horses on our ranch. It amazes me that an animal strong enough to kill a man with a kick of his hind leg can also show empathy for others around him.
Humans can learn a lot from them.
Insight
Treat horses with care and compassion. It might surprise you what they will teach you about yourself.
Did You Know?
Riding a gentle horse is a great experience for children growing up and learning about the world around them.
Until next time,
Mark Miller
“Before I was school age, I knew the names of more horses than I did kids.” From A Sometimes Paradise.
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