The Wounded Healer by Jodi Carlton
My son, Aidan, has always loved animals and has the softest, kindest heart. Once, when he was about 5 years old, he moved a worm off of the driveway so it wouldn’t get crushed by the car. Perhaps, however, because of his young age, our own dogs and cats have never really given him much respect, treating him as a “pup” in our “pack.” They just don’t see him as having rank, I guess.
Yet, one day when we visited a horse rescue farm, The Last Stop Horse Rescue, the horses there saw something entirely different when Aidan set foot in their pasture. According to Joyce Pomeroy, most of her horses have stories of abuse and neglect that have left emotional scars that have been much slower to heal than the physical wounds which have gradually disappeared with her tender love and care. Many of her horses are very distrustful of people and often prefer to steer clear of visitors to the farm. Joyce always allows the horses to feel safe, and to interact with visitors based on their own comfort levels.
One of the horses that typically stays to herself is Belle, a large horse that is half Clydesdale. That day, however, instead of heading to the other side of the pasture, Belle’s ears perked up when she saw Aidan, and she headed over to investigate. Joyce later told me that Belle responded to Aidan in a similar way to how she had responded to another rescue horse, Gracie, a miniature who had gone blind and needed a friend to protect her. Belle followed Aidan around the pasture that day and even put her ears back at one point to move the other horses away from Aidan as if to say, “This is my little boy! Step away!”
Belle knew what she was doing. She saw and sensed what the human eye could not. Belle recognized instantly that my son needed his own kind of rescuing. Not only did Belle see a boy who has a deep love of animals, a boy she sensed she could instantly trust, but she also saw a boy who had been deeply wounded, himself. At only 9 years of age, Aidan has had a rough time.
He was diagnosed with epilepsy at only 18 months of age which led to years of medications with awful side effects. Aidan’s older sister has Asperger’s, a high functioning form of autism, and not many people can truly understand how tough that is for siblings. In the last year, Aidan has also learned some very tough life lessons for a young boy. He has been bullied by kids at school – betrayed, by a boy who had been his friend, and whose parents had been our friends. Also, because he is a good athlete, Aidan had a baseball coach who exploited him and made many promises that he didn’t keep. This coach was one of many over the years that Aidan has seen make selfish choices at the expense of children. He has learned that adults can’t always be trusted to do the right thing, and now we have watched the light fade from his eyes for the sport that he has loved since he first swung a bat at age four. This breaks our heart for him.
Lastly, this Fall, Aidan became very ill with back to back viral and bacterial infections, including a month long episode of low-grade fevers and school absences, all of which ultimately led to a relapse of his epilepsy. Fortunately, the seizures ceased as Aidan’s health improved. Nonetheless, the experience was very frightening for Aidan – for all of us!
The day we visited the horse rescue, Joyce knew none of this. We were essentially strangers. However, the horses greeted Aidan like a long-lost friend, and the feeling was mutual! They were drawn together like magnets. Belle eventually allowed the other horses to meet Aidan who brushed, and loved on each of them. Although he’s never spent a lot of time with horses, particularly in a herd, he was so comfortable and relaxed – at peace.
Although Belle had appointed herself as Aidan’s guardian, another horse truly seemed to be a kindred spirit. He was so at ease that he laid down in the pasture near Aidan, who went and sat down beside him. Together they sat for the longest time, leaning their heads together, feeling loved and feeling safe. The horse’s name – Spirit.
I read a saying once: “Sometimes it takes a wounded healer to heal.” I believe that my son needs these horse as much as they need him. The bond between them is more than I can describe. They seem to understand each other without needing any words at all. He has already been out to see them again, and we plan to make them a big part of our lives.
I have always believed that animals and humans are so very closely connected – that we, as humans have a responsibility as caretakers to watch over the creatures of this Earth. Little did I realize how closely they are watching over us as well.
Contributing writer, Jodi Carlton, is a woman I admire greatly. She is the driving force behind www.aspiespot.com and https://www.facebook.com/aspiespot . See Jodi’s bio here.
The email address for the Last Stop Horse Rescue is www.laststophorserescue.com and their Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/laststophorserescue.jchorsefarm?fref=ts
