Wendy the Wonder Horse

This is my horse Wendy in the summer of 2007, a few months after we had brought her to the mountains in New Mexico. Wendy was part Appaloosa, seventeen hands high. She had a sweet temperament. She had spent several years in a large corral in desert country, kept from her food by other, more aggressive horses. When she came to us, she was thin, covered with scars from bites from the other horses. She stood in the middle of our field and did not seem to know how to eat fresh grass. She was shy with us. But all that changed quickly. She thrived on the fresh green grass in our valley. She was a great horse to ride ,with a smooth trot, sure footed on mountain trails and beautiful to watch when she ran around the field. We have learned that grey horses are susceptible to skin and eye problems from the sun. Last year Wendy developed "Moon Blindness". She lost the sight in her right eye and soon after, in her left eye. This winter we learned that she had cancer in her left eye.

On February 2, on the advice of our veterinarian who had been treating her, we had her put down. She was 15 years old, a beautiful, otherwise healthy horse and that was a difficult decision.

We have decorated the place where she is buried with turkey feathers, rocks, and flowers.

We miss Wendy and we still call her Wendy the Wonder Horse.

 

Gerald Hausman publishes "Rastafarian Children of Solomon"

Watch for another new book by Gerald Hausman, coming out in early March,
"Rastafarian Children of Solomon." Gerry brings to this book his gifts of clear writing, extensive research, and years of deep friendships and personal experience from spending time in Jamaica.
Here is the review from Publishers Weekly:
Hausman first went to the north coast of Jamaica in 1985, and for 10 years he led an outdoor-experience summer school there. He came to know Jamaica from the “inside out,” developing deep friendships with an intriguing cast of Rastas, who trace their lineage to King Solomon, “the wisest man on earth.” Hausman skillfully connects the lives and beliefs of these peaceful and resourceful people—fishermen, wicker weavers, Rasta preachers, respected elders, and wise men and women—through heartfelt conversations that arise spontaneously while sitting under the shade of a pimento tree, in a dusty yard, or by firelight in the cool evening ocean breeze. Rastafarian spiritual wisdom, recounted here in authentic Jamaican patois, emphasizes equality: an unwavering faith and hope in the holy spirit that lives in each human being. As followers of the Kebra Nagast—the African gospel excised from the King James version of the Bible—these Rasta “old ways” are epitomized by a statement from Jesus: “According to your faith, be it unto you.” (Mar.)
Reviewed in Publlishers Weekly on: 02/11/2013  http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-59143-154-1