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May 12, 2013: Mr. Siggi’s Birthday

It was a very tough day. This was to be Mr. Siggi’s tenth birthday. He died less than a year ago. What happened still hardly seems real. Sometimes I walk by the horse paddock and I think I see him standing with the others or flaked out in the sand pile. I look again and then recall that he’s no longer with us. This, to me seems to be one of life’s greatest unfairnesses.

I have, since his death, been working hard at looking forward, and thinking about what I have rather than what I’ve lost. Some would say this is the right thing to do, otherwise I’d be dwelling on what used to be, and this is a fiction.




Can something be real if it no longer exists? Like memories? I think so. A memory is intangible. But at the moment it comes to mind it’s real. So, the best of all possible days in which to think about Mr. Siggi is on the date of his birth, which around here was always a very special day.

There is so much that I remember. For example, after he shed out, his coat on his shoulder area was smooth and the color of a dark, burnished wood. And he had a sprinkling of white hairs on his muzzle and a few white hairs on the center of his forehead. These came from his dam, Roskova, as did his blue dun coloring. Unlike her, he was leaner and a bit more lanky.

I surmised that Mr. Siggi was put together by God, using the remaining parts in the Icelandic horse box, which are those that God had left over after assembling Iceland’s finest horses. It was a nice assemblage.

The end result was a horse that appeared to be disjointed. God, who knew this, saved the best part for last. He hurried off to a back room, and returned with a special box, one that on the outside was written “for the best Icelandic horse of all.” All the assemblage angels then stood around as with a flourish, God pulled forth a brain. This brain was special; its characteristics included an above average horse intelligence, as well as the best disposition ever. Thus, our earthly Mr. Siggi was wise, kind, and as an animal communicator told us, other worldly.

Mr. Siggi chose Pete to be his best human friend and with good reason. He opened up a door for Pete that Pete would not have opened up for himself. Pete subsequently became a knowledgeable horse person and an excellent rider. As for me, I learned to be more flexible in my thinking. Mr. Siggi had some physical limitations that I could not address. However, he was an ideal trail horse. His wonderful spirit dictated his actions.

I believe that Mr. Siggi sent us Ryder because he knew that he could not be replaced. And before leaving, he told Signy to take good care of Pete, which she did. When it came time for Signy to go, she told Hrimmi to take good care of Pete. So, indirectly, Mr. Siggi’s spirit lives on in both the forms of Ryder and Hrimmi, who I call the next generation.

I keep reminding myself of the above. However, today I miss Mr. Siggi and for this reason am feeling very sad.

Next: May 13, 2014: What’s Written in Stone: Pete’s Birthday