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 Horse's Prayer
Author Unknown
To thee,
my master, I offer my prayer. Feed me, water and care for me, and when
the day's work is done, provide me with shelter, a clean, dry bed, and
stall wide enough for me to lie down in comfort.
Always be kind to me. Your voice often means as much to me as the
reins. Pet me sometimes, that I may serve you the more gladly and learn
to love you. Do not jerk the reins, and do not whip me when going
uphill. Never strike, beat, or kick me when I do not understand you.
Watch me, and if I fail to do your bidding, see if something is not
wrong with my tack, teeth or feet.
Do not check me so that I cannot have free use of my head. If you
insist that I wear blinkers, so that I cannot see behind me as it was
intended I should, I pray you be careful that the blinders stand well
out of my eyes. Do not overload me, or hitch me where water will drip on
me. Keep me well shod. Examine my teeth when I do not eat, I may have
an ulcerated tooth, and that, you know, is very painful. Do not tie my
head in an unnatural position, or take away my best defense against
flies and mosquitoes by cutting off my tail.
I cannot tell you when I am thirsty, so give me clean, cool water
often. Save me, by all means in your power from that fatal disease -
the glanders. I cannot tell you in words when I am sick, so watch me,
that by signs you may know my condition. Give me all possible shelter
from the hot sun, and put a blanket on me, not when I am working, but
when I am standing in the cold. Never put a frosty bit in my mouth,
first warm it by holding it a moment in your hands.
I try to carry you and your burden without a murmur, and wait patiently
for you long hours of the day or night. Without the power to choose my
shoes or path, I sometimes fall on hard pavement which I have often
prayed might not be of wood but of such a nature as to give me safe and
sure footing. Remember that I must be ready at any moment to lose my
life in your service.
And finally, OH MY MASTER, when my useful strength is gone, do not turn
me out to starve or freeze, or sell me to some cruel owner, to be slowly
tortured and starved to death, but do thou, My Master, take my life in
the kindest way, and your God will reward you here and hereafter. You
will not consider me irreverent if I ask this in the name of Him who was
born in a stable. AMEN
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Heaven's Gate Farm
