I cry because I feel their pain

I'm sharing Ava's blog with you. She is my sister's oldest, the first child born into our family, my God-daughter whom I love so much (I love all my sister's children, of course!).

Ava wasn't even two years old when she first rode a pony and fell in love with horses and started dreaming of show jumping. She started taking riding lessons when she was five and you could soon see her potential as a rider. They bought Ian when she was 9 and her talent was obvious, and soon her little sister's as well. Isla is steadfast, perseverant and committed to whatever she does, and she also started jumping with Ian. And with Ian, my sister's childhood dream of riding horses became a reality, together with her own girls.

Ian was a great teacher and an interesting sight at competitions  -this sturdy,  black-and-white Irish cob whom many could not believe could be a jumper. But he was really good at it and the snickering would silence when he started to jump! He regularly placed well and Ava and Ian even won first place -and these are competitions where a child competes together with adults.

At 11 years old Ava got a permit to compete at regionals and they did it once before Ian started to get ill. She is soon turning 12 and I hope that they will  find another horse - no one can be what Ian was, but another animal soul to bond with, be friends and companions and working partners with.

These photos are from Ava's blog. If you feel like it, go send her a message there! She writes in Swedish, English and Finnish and posts a lot of pictures of their animals. Feel free to share her blog with any animal-loving people you know :)

Here is a video of them at a competition

When the miracle doesn't come

Ian, my sister's horse is sick.
I drove there today with Indi, to say our goodbyes, because save for a miracle, they will probably have to let him go next week.

I'm so sad, and he is not even my horse. He is just so sweet, "the gentle giant". I know my sister's family's hearts are breaking.

His eyes were so very tired.

There has been crying and praying. We hope for a miracle so that he would get well and we would still get to have him with us. He has brought so much joy and love to many lives.

Miracles are powerful and convincing, but when the miracle doesn't come, and instead comes sickness, pain, loss and sorrow, and yet the person says: " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21)  -and he prays that only the will of God happens, not his own-

then I know, I am positive,
that the forces of darkness tremble
because they have no power over such faith
and I believe that the angels in heaven rejoice and wonder:
"Who are these human children that they should believe when they do not see?"


"Ian" means: God is gracious.


* Edited the next morning*
Ian passed away last night naturally. He most likely had cancer of lymphatic system. The final results may or may not tell what the cause was. Yesterday he was still eating hay and carrots and he didn't seem to be in pain. He was just very tired and he had lost some 150 kilos of weight. I think it was best this way, my sister didn't have to make the difficult decision.
It was his time to go even though we didn't want it to be.