If you own a horse, you'll probably agree that they're part and parcel of your family. Your horse can read your emotions and talk to you through their whinnies, snorts and facial expressions. This makes them a dear friend, just like your other human friends.
When your horse dies, saying goodbye to your horse is nothing less than saying goodbye to your best friend. One way of honoring your friendship is by commemorating your relationship through memorials. Here are 7 ways to memorialize your equine:
1. Make A Shadow Box
Gather all that’s left of your horse's things; items such as ribbons, halters, shoes, hair, awards and the like. Keep them in a shadow box and put it in a strategic place in your living room to offer a display of things that remind you of your friend.
To break the monotony, you can rearrange your shadow box sometimes. This is a great way to keep memories of your horse fresh in your mind on a daily basis.
2. Cremate Your Horse
Just like you’d love to preserve your family member’s ashes, you can also have your horse cremated. Look for reliable pet cremation services to ensure your horse is handled with respect and dignity.
You could scatter their ashes, or invest in a nice urn to store them. Go for a classic style that will go match your home's décor as it changes over time. Have the horse’s name engraved on the urn to create a lasting tribute for years to come.
3. Create A Video
Create a video that features all of the pictures and video clips you have of them and all the good times you spent together. This is a great way to document your best moments, your fun times, your rides, and even bonding time with your horse.
Use video editing software to add your favorite songs to the memories. You can also include other scenes like your family members playing with your horse. Whenever you watch the video, you get to relive those blissful moments you shared with your horse.
4. Put Together A Photo Book
Consider adding some of interesting facts about horses or little stories about your own horse. People who look through the book will enjoy learning more about horses as they scroll through the album. And whenever you look at the pictures, you’ll flood your mind with cherished moments you spent with your horse.
5. Custom Made Jewelry
You can preserve your horse's hair by turning it into jewelry. There are any number of artisans who can customize a piece of jewelry using your horse’s hair. You can use horse hair in your earrings, bracelets, beads and necklaces.
If you want something more classic, have your horse’s name engraved on a wristband, or have their halter or bridle tag put onto a band to wear. This allows you to carry along your horse wherever you go and include them in your daily life.
6. Use Art
Art like plaques, statues, portraits and paintings can be a nice way of preserving your memories of your horse. Hire sculptors to make carvings of your horse and use the sculpture as a decoration in your house.
Portraits or framed photographs are also another way to memorialize your horse. These can be used as house décor. Using house décor to honor your horse acts as a reminder of the intimate bond you had with your horse.
7. Donate To Charity
Acts of charity can also honor your horse. Donate some money to rescue homes or riding centers in your horse’s name. If you got the horse from a rescue center, your donation could help another horse get a chance at a new life.
If your horse succumbed to a disease, you can have a fund drive in your horse’s name to help other horse owners to fight horse diseases. You can also help them take care of injured or sick horses as a way of remembering how you took care of yours.
In A Nutshell
It’s painful to lose your horse. But not all is gone with their passing. You have several options to preserve memories of your horse. Such memorials help you to honour them and to keep their spirit with you as you heal from your loss.
Written by Lorenzo Michaels
Feature image: Rolandas Augutis; Image 1: Emmylou
