When you lose your beloved horse
There is no hiding from this sadness. Sooner or later, you will lose one of your friends. Understanding grief may help you in the process.
While grief is the response to losing something you love, no grief is the same. People grieve differently. at the end of the day is that you lost a furry friend and their memory now live on with you. Understand that this is normal among horse owners. There are five stages and remember that they may not be experienced in order and sometimes you may feel yourself going back and forth between them.
1. DENIAL - This is usually that first response. Sometimes there is the shock of the death, which is followed by the denial. No, this is not something that you wanted to happen. It is normal as it is the mind's way of trying to block out the issues that may hurt you. It helps slow the grieving process down so you don't go through all the emotions at once.
While grief is the response to losing something you love, no grief is the same. People grieve differently. at the end of the day is that you lost a furry friend and their memory now live on with you. Understand that this is normal among horse owners. There are five stages and remember that they may not be experienced in order and sometimes you may feel yourself going back and forth between them.
1. DENIAL - This is usually that first response. Sometimes there is the shock of the death, which is followed by the denial. No, this is not something that you wanted to happen. It is normal as it is the mind's way of trying to block out the issues that may hurt you. It helps slow the grieving process down so you don't go through all the emotions at once.
2. ANGER - It is not uncommon to lose a loved one and then feel anger about it. While lashing out is a natural process, try not to lash out too hard, damaging more relations. Feeling resentment toward your lost loved one is also normal. Don't be too hard on yourself either. It is a temporary feeling, and your loved ones will understand your pain if they too have experienced such loss.
3. BARGAINING - Here come the What if? and the If only -thoughts. You may rethink what you could have done in an effort to gain control. Understanding it all is sometimes the most confusing part.
3. BARGAINING - Here come the What if? and the If only -thoughts. You may rethink what you could have done in an effort to gain control. Understanding it all is sometimes the most confusing part.
4. DEPRESSION - When the world gets heavy, book some down time. Getting out of bed may be hard. Thoughts and memories may be harder. Allow it to work it's full fiery and deal with it. There's no ignoring it or tamping it down, or you may end up at the anger stage again.
5. ACCEPTANCE - The final stage is just coming to terms with it all. Sometimes there is adjustment with the next horse, dealing with a different horse with different training. At the end of the day, you should start feeling like yourself again.
While there is no time frame, but with the support of your family and friends, you can deal with it easier. Peace.
5. ACCEPTANCE - The final stage is just coming to terms with it all. Sometimes there is adjustment with the next horse, dealing with a different horse with different training. At the end of the day, you should start feeling like yourself again.
While there is no time frame, but with the support of your family and friends, you can deal with it easier. Peace.
