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.
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