Mary's Pasture
In selfless service three horses give.
Each day the price they pay to live.
Until one day a woman came
and offered to take away their pain.
In pastures green they recover awhile
while their hearts remember how to smile.
Until they are called to heaven on high
where their souls remember how to fly.
Kim McElroy
About the Art
Thunder was a wise elder horse who taught Mary about the joy of being in nature. Thunder was a palomino gelding who had spent 27 years as a lesson horse and a therapy horse but had become unhappy in his work. Mary adopted Thunder to allow him to retire. While he recovered in Mary’s pasture with her other rescued horse, a bay gelding named Chaco, Thunder taught Mary many valuable lessons. Some of the healing guides of these lessons were two unique moths which you will find hidden in the painting amongst others.
A few years after Thunder’s passing, Mary rescued a mare named Maya. Maya and Chaco instantly bonded, and for the short time that Maya lived, she and Chaco lived in an earthly paradise together.
When Mary told me the profound stories of healing she had witnessed in the company of her three rescued horses, I suggested I paint all three. When she showed me the photo of Maya and Chaco with the shadow on Chaco’s shoulder, I knew why. To me, the shadow is like the spirit of Thunder, present with his herd mates. Now Maya has joined Thunder in horse heaven. Mary’s loving dedication made the ends of their lives full of love and peace.