When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.


There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.


All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.


They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.


You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.


Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....


Author unknown...



This page is in memory of
those who wait at the
Bridge
this page is long but it is mostly text so doesn't take too long to load,
well worth the wait tho.
Our hope is that you enjoy it
I'll lend you for a little while
My grandest foal, He said.
For you to love while he's alive
And morn for when he's dead.

It may be one or twenty years,
Or days or months , you see.
But, will you, till I take him back
Take care of him for me?

He'll bring his charms to gladden you,
And should his stay be brief
You'll have treasured memories
As solace for your grief.

I cannot promise he will stay,
Since all from earth return.
But, there are lessons taught on earth
I want this foal to learn.

I've looked the wide world over
In my search for teachers true.
And from the throngs that crowd life's lanes
With trust I have selected you.

Now will you give him your total love?
Nor think the labor vain,
Nor hate Me when I come
To take him back again?

I know you'll give him tenderness
And love will bloom each day.
And for the happiness you've known
Forever grateful stay.

But should I come and call for him
Much sooner than you'd planned
You'll brave the bitter grief that comes
And someday you'll understand.

For though I'll call him home to Me
This promise to you I do make
For all the love and care you gave
He'll wait for you, inside Heaven's Gate.

What we are allowed to share with those special spirits, can never be taken from us. Those memories will be buried in our hearts forever. And even though some of those memories are not as long as others, they are very worthwhile.


Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not here; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond's gilt on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you awake in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplighting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine in the night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not here. I did not die.

Rainier Shannon AQHA 1963-1985
Snippy Spud AQHA 1964-1988
Snipparoo AQHA 1971-1990
Mel O Win AQHA 1974-2000
Keranaho Ketablan ApHC 1975-1995
Pauls Scoobydo Bee 1978-1999
Dun In Spots  1983-2004
Codalena Blue AQHA 1985-2002
IA Two Bee Do AQHA 1989-1989
IA Spades Leapin Ace 2000-2003
Rocking V Kota 1992-2004
Dox Pistolena Gem  May 2004-Aug 2004
Scoobys Miss Hi Jinx 1990-2006
Stareena Pine 1982-2008

If It Should Be
(Author unknown)

If it should be that I grow weak,
And pain should keep me from my sleep,
Then you must do what must be done,
For this last battle cannot be won.

You will be sad, I understand;
Don't let your grief then stay your hand.
For this day more than all the rest,
Your love for me must stand the test.

We've had so many happy years -
What is to come can hold no fears.
You'd not want me to suffer so;
The time has come, so let me go.

Take me where my needs they'll tend
And please stay with me until the end.
Hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.

I know in time that you will see
The kindness that you did for me.
Although my tail its last has waved,
From pain and suffering I've been saved.

Please do not grieve - it must be you
Who had this painful thing to do.
We've been so close, we two, these years -
Don't let your heart hold back its tears.

Don't Cry

Don't cry for the horses
That life has set free
A million white horses
forever to be.

Don't cry for the horses
Now in God's hands
As they dance and they prance
To a heavenly band.

They were ours as a gift
But never to keep
As they close their eyes
Forever to sleep.

Their spirits unbound
On silver wings they fly
A million white horses
Against the blue sky.

Look up into heaven
You'll see them above
The horses we lost
The horses we loved.

Manes and tails flowing
They gallop through time
They were never yours
They were never mine
Don't cry for the horses
They will be back someday
When our time has come
They will show us the way

Do you hear that soft nicker
Close to your ear?
Don't cry for the horses
Love the ones that are here.

~~Author Unknown

updated on: 2/27/2009
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IRISH ACRES
Foundation Quarter Horses
&
Australian Shepherds
Gene, Debra, & Shawn McGuire
Everson Washington
Keranaho@att.net
Go to Mel's page for more photos of this grand old stallion
Go to DoBees page for more pictures of him
Go to Ace's home for more pictures of this exciting young stallion, taken way too soon.
The Bridle on the Wall

There's a bridle hanging on the wall,
And Old Pokey's no longer in the stall.
He's in the Great Pasture at last,
Where he'll feast and never fast,
Though he never shurked his task;
For Old Pokey had plenty of class,
So it is with man and beast,
As I think to say the least.
Time will come to man as well,
When retirement time is swell.
But that's not the end of life,
Nor man's sorrow, or his strife.
Though a man of means he be,
One more stop, Where will it be?
Heaven is a place of rest,
Through Christ alone man stands the test.
               
Rev. Charles E. Ashcraft
The poems on this page have all come from somewhere else. If you wish to use them please give credit where it is due. If there is no "signature" then they are unknown.
If I have one here that you know the author of, let me know and I will add the signature to it.

Thanks for coming by, Please sign our guestbook.
P-234
William H Capps
1998

Leo came from Cameron
Wimpy's number is one
Both have earned the right to be called
A Texas favorite son
Time has shown their greatness
As their praises we still sing
But when you ride in Southwest Texas
P-234 is still the King

From the Palo Duro Canyon
To the Diablo Plateau
Across the rolling hills of Austin
To the streets of El Paso
Just ask any hand, he'll tell you
Wether he's weathered or he's green
P-234 is still the King

He is as much a part of Texas
As cowtowns or Rodeos
Longhorns or coyotes
Or the fabled Yellow Rose
Jast ask any hand, he'll tell you
Wether he' weathered or he's green
P-234 is still the King

There's Midnights and Gray Badgers
Waggoners Rainy Day
Old Joe Blair, Old Joe Bailey
Uncle Jimmy Grey
There're Rondos, there're Tontos
The Hank, the Gal, the Gill
Question Mark, Clabber
Ben Hur, Ed Echols and Chicaro Bill

These were no mere horses
They wore lightning in their hide
They scorched the southwest winds
With their each and every stride

Oklahoma Star, Cowboy, Beggar Boy,
Nick Shoemaker, Amigo Brown
Can't forget Raffles, Bartender, Joe Hancock
These are the jewel, but not the crown
Just ask anyone who saw him
Run the table in Abilene
They'll tell you without blinking
P-234 is still the King

He is as much a part of Texas
as black gold or dosey-dos
Poco Bueno, Pine Johnson
Jesse James or Matlock Rose
Just ask any hand and he'll tell you
Wether he's weathered or he's green
When you ride in Southwest Texas
P-234 is still the King

Squaw H, his running daughter
Was speed and beauty on the track
King's Pistol was pure poetry
With Jim Calhoun sitting on his back
That princely son "Ole Pokey"
Started his own dynasty
As did Power Command and Royal King
Two more splendid branches
From this splendid tree

Now I know there are those among us
Who say he was "all right for his time"
Then they'll proceed to "blah blah blah"
About this old stud of mine
My temperature starts rising
Like a radiator on an old burned-out V-eight
I slowly ball my fists
So I can properly oil that squeaking gate

But ever since I "oiled" that one in Amarillo
The judge told me "to learn to count to ten"
Because I was going to learn to count to ninety
If I ever "oiled" one again
So I just tip my hat politely
Then make my way back to the ring
And watch one of his great-gand-get prove
That P-234 is still the King

He is as much a part of Texas
As Bluebonnets or Armadillos
Earnest Tubb's "Walking the Floor"
Or the Playboys' "San Antonio Rose"
Just ask any hand, he'll tell you
Wether he's weathered or he's green
That he's dead certain of two things
One is that bourbon still goes with branchwater
And that P-234 is STILL the King.

Eternal Whistler
Virginia E Beck

It is the Eternal Whistler who
Goes whistling up the sky
By his side are weary horses
Who have come to him to die

He whistles them over the far off clouds
And up to the Shining Gate
And while he whistles a different tune
They stand and they snort and they wait

He whistles a sudden piercing note
And slowly the gate swings wide
And when no one's looking--
St Peter winks--
And hustles them all inside.
Some of my other friends who wait....

Trixie -- rat terrier
Sambo -- little black heinz
Sheba -- my first Dane
Queenie -- my moms Elkhound
Max -- my rescue Dane
Skeeter-- Australian Shepherd
Jess -- Gr Dane
Tessa -- Gr Dane
Thor -- Gr Dane
Puppy -- white Aussie
Loki -- Gr Dane
Missy-- Aussie
Banshee-- Aussie
Duke-- Ridgeback/Golden
Oly-- a real genuine "Sheep-dog" (Romney by breed)
Tug -- Aussie--1988-2004



A Parting Prayer

Dear Lord, please open your gates
and call St. Francis
to come escort this beloved companion
across the Rainbow Bridge.

Assign her to a place of honor,
for she has been a faithful servant
and has always done her best to please me.

Bless the hands that send her to you,
for they are doing so in love and compassion,
freeing her from pain and suffering.

Grant me the strength not to dwell on my loss.
Help me remember the details of her life
with the love she has shown me.
And grant me the courage to honor her
by sharing those memories with others.

Let her remember me as well
and let her know that I will always love her.
And when it's my time to pass over into your paradise,
please allow her to accompany those
who will bring me home.

Thank you, Lord,
for the gift of her companionship
and for the time we've had together.

And thank you, Lord,
for granting me the strength
to give her to you now.

Amen.

- © Brandy Duckworth, 1998

Two years ago I turned him out,
He got too old to ride.
He wasn't with the bunch today,
That's how I knew he died.
I rode upon the highest hill,
The day was cold and raw,
From there I saw him lying dead
Down in the biggest draw.

The kids had all learned to ride on him,
Together they had fun.
He always brought them home from school
Through snow, or rain, or sun.
If they fell off he'd wait for them,
He didn't seem to care
How much they bumped him in his ribs
Or hung on by his hair.

I rode up close to say goodbye,
A horse like him is rare,
And something seemed to fill my throat
To see him lying there.
I wish now I had kept him in,
He'd wintered out enough
His teeth were gone, he was too old,
the winter was to rough.

And as I sat there looking down
On those old legs so trim,
I thought of all the miles they went,
Of how we trusted him.
A horse to me is like a man
They're both the same inside,
The qualities we like in men
Within the horse abide.

I knew I'd have to tell the boys
Their friend had passed away,
To where he'd be a colt again
with other kids to play,
And so I thought as I rode on
With eyes a little dim
A boy would make a better man
Who had a pal like him

From the book,  Logs and Leather. Published in Western Horseman (1966 ?)