Theory of Big Bang
The aging horse asks for a peaceful end! I know they mean well. As difficult as my life is, at least the same difficult it’s theirs. I was born on a farm in Romania, and I was expected, as everyone in a low-income community is, to work hard. And work I have. Now, however, I am an old man. 17 years may not seem like much in human terms, but for a horse that has been a beast of burden since birth, it’s a lifetime.
The aging horse asks for a peaceful end! I know they mean well. As difficult as my life is, at least the same difficult it’s theirs. I was born on a farm in Romania, and I was expected, as everyone in a low-income community is, to work hard. And work I have. Now, however, I am an old man. 17 years may not seem like much in human terms, but for a horse that has been a beast of burden since birth, it’s a lifetime.
My family brought me to ROLDA hoping they could get us to help for my respiratory disease, and other chronic illnesses that need expensive medicines. Myself, I think most of all I just need rest and recovery time. I am an old boy who wishes to continue to serve his family but cannot given my current health. My body is weak and aged; ravaged by diseases I no longer have the strength to fight.
We cannot afford a rest, and my family does not have the money to buy a younger, healthier horse. I know if I cannot work, I am a financial burden on a family which already carries too many money worries. There will be no place here for me for long. There is no refuge, nor “retirement” houses for an aged or unhealthy horse.
I do my best not to dwell on those thoughts, and what the future now holds for me…
Nor do I place blame, or cast stones. I know only my work, my family and farm, and the financial realities that we face. ROLDA wants to take me in and allow me to live my final days in peace. But there is no barn to house me, no food to feed me, no money for my final medical bills.
The alternative to a horse shelter being established in my home of Romania is not a kind one. One day, I will break down in our fields. On that day, I will die. I only hope there is a vet willing to provide a speedy and peaceful passing. But veterinary care costs money, which we do not have.
I do not blame the four-legged creatures who have been my family. I do not hold a grudge against the people for whom I have worked. I know that those strangers at ROLDA mean well. They are trying to provide me with a quiet end to a long life. A hard life, but my work has had a purpose, and I know my family is the better for it.
I may only be a horse, but I feel, I think and I have a theory.
Big Bang Theory
My Big Bang Theory is that all people around the world understand that you must work hard in life to survive. You hope that all your hard work will earn you a good retirement, or at least a few days to rest before you pass into the next world.
It is the same for those of us who wander our world on four legs. We seek only to please and to work hard to serve and protect our human families. We may not speak your languages, but we feel joy, fear, and pain as you do. We feel tired as we age, and we hope to be allowed to rest. If I must, I will continue to toil in the fields until the day I drop down.
But ROLDA feels there is a better way. A barn could be built for all of us broken-down farm animals. A place where we can live our final days in peace, and rest after a life of servitude.
Please consider a donation to help build a ROLDA barn where I, and so many other horses and donkeys, can live out our last days free of work and the pain that we live with each day.