Goodbye Old Barney (cont.)

My dad wrote a thoughtful comment about Barney to Tess and Colm. I thought I'd post it for everyone to read.

Dear Tess and Colm,

Sorry to hear about Barney. I don't know how long ago the picture you sent of Colm on Barney was taken, but he looked good and I'm happy he was able to spend so many years with all of you in such a friendly and pleasant place. While not a very good cow horse, Barney was a very special horse in many ways. He was used by the Forest Service packing all kinds of equipment to build and manage trails and as a result he was great to ride in tight areas where there is always a good chance of getting scraped off the saddle by a limb or brush. It was always as if he knew just how much room you needed for your legs to get by an object. I rode him on trails with many good horses but none that could bring you back to camp any faster or more comfortably. As you may know I had to put Smokey down around a year ago when he was about 29 so Barney was probably close to that age and they were both wonderful horses that gave so much pleasure to us all. It is always sad and difficult to experience the death of a good animal as it also is with a good friend but we can take solace in knowing that while he gave us great pleasure, we lived up to our responsibility to take good care of him. The next time you come over, bring a halter that fits Stormy and I will make you a rope halter and lead rope to fit him.

Love,
Grandpa