2018 Miniature Horse World Magazine SPRING, Volume 34, Number 2 | Page 12

in memoriam cont. Jones Hawks Ranten and Raven By Nicole Jones Pearsall, West Middlesex, PA T hey say when you find your heart horse....you’ll know. And if you are really lucky, you will get more than one in your lifetime. Well, as many of you know, I am one of the lucky ones that has had two of them. People ask me some- times, “What’s the hardest part of having horses?”, thinking that I’m going say the time it takes to take care of them or the hard work that goes into having them or the loads and loads of money they require to be cared for properly. Well, I can tell you without a doubt that it is none of the above. The hardest part of having horses is the goodbye. And through the million tears I have already cried, I am beyond devastated to say that today was that day for my precious Raven. Anyone who knows me already knows how hard this is to write. But 10 Miniature Horse World SPRING 2018 I feel like I have to do it not because I am looking for sympathy but because I need to honor Raven for the amazing friend she was to me and for all that she gave to me her whole life. I’m not sure how many of you remember one of our most special horses ever, Jones’ Little Orphan Annie. But you may have heard my mom or I talk about Annie or the “Annie brats”. Annie solidified my desire to be a veterinarian at a very young age when her mother dropped dead instantly in front of our eyes when Annie was only 8 days old. My mom did not feel that she could handle raising an orphan foal so she decided to give Annie away to a friend who had raised orphans before. That was until I threw a fit, screamed, cried and begged her to let me keep Annie. She agreed as long as I was the one who had to take care of her (I was 12 at the time). Annie thrived and as a yearling she got very sick when we were away at a horse show. We had to leave the show early and take her straight to OSU vet school. Long story short, Annie beat the odds and survived surgery and went on to give me 6 of my most precious horses ever ... the “Annie Brats”, Nashville, Tex, Ne- braska, Nevada, Dink, and Raven. In 2000, my dear friend Janet King gave me one of the greatest gifts I had ever been given. She allowed me to breed Annie to my favorite stallion, Champion Farms Nighthawk, which was a dream come true. On March 15, 2001, Jones’ Hawk’s Ranten and Raven was born and it was love at first sight. But when Raven was only 3 months old, Annie suddenly got sick and was gone within a matter of hours. I treasured Raven tremen- dously before Annie’s untimely death but even more so afterwards. Raven quickly became my heart horse and no one could ever hold that special place in my heart like Raven did. Raven would have been 17 this March 15th - really not very old for a horse at all. But she developed cancer of the liver which could not be surgically removed. Her body would not respond to chemo whatsoever and she has been slowly declining over the past year and a half or so. We knew this day was getting closer as in the past few months as she began losing muscle mass continu- ously. But, she continued to eat her hay and grain and LOVED the apples that she got every day. Thankfully, we were able to keep her comfortable for quite a while longer than expected and she was doing great until today. We tried EVERYTHING to save her, but despite every possible medical treat- ment available she continued to slip further and further away and I knew that I had to let her go despite how incredibly difficult it was for me to do. Raven produced 4 foals in her lifetime and 2 of which I still own and will always will. (Toxi and Robyn) I am so grateful to have these two daughters of Raven and several grandbabies of Raven also. I know I should just be thankful for getting to love her for the 16 years and 10 months that she was here, but I can’t help but be overcome with grief when I had to let her go today. I loved her more than words could ever convey and I will always love her and miss her terribly until the day comes when we get to be together again. I know that her biological mommy, Annie, was probably very happy to see her. And I know that she will be ok until I get there because she has the great- est barn manager ever taking care of her..... my grandpa. I love you my precious Raven Hawk with ev ery ounce of my heart. Thank you for being mine and being the best horse to ever walk this earth. The next time that I meet you will be at Heaven’s door. You’ll be there to meet me and I will cry no more. I’ll put my arms around you and kiss your beautiful face and then this broken heart of mine will fall back in to place. See Your Horse Here Feature your wonderful Mini in the pages of MHW! A brand new feature- A Miniature We’d Love to Own- and so very inexpensive to see your horse on a full color page in the magazine. Send three photos and the descriptive text all about your horse. Design cost is only $50. Reserve yours today! [email protected]