The herd holds a vigil
Despite all care, help and encouragement, Tasha Sophie Nitem laid down in the northern field on Saturday morning and didn't stand up again. She died of old age.
Photo above: The old lady beard and swayed torso were two of the unique features of Tasha's physical body.
Photo bellow: Belle Amie holds silent meditative space in the labyrinth further away but still within sight of Tasha's body.
Unaware of the event, I arrived at Chiron about two hours after the mare's passing. My original intention was to have a regular session with the horses; instead I saw, from far away, Halliday sitting in the northern field and meditating next to Tasha's body covered with a horse blanket. Then I saw Midnight, Tasha's daughter, laying down by the labyrinth, and the four remaining horses standing over her in a protective, supportive formation: the grieving orphan guarded by the family circle. She got up a while later, and sought closeness with either Belle Amie or Taz.
Belle Amie, in fact, had played the role of a step mom or an aunt to Midnight for weeks before Tasha passed. Midnight, who never left her mother's side before, started to follow Belle Amie, almost 'tail' her, always standing by her hind. This is a behavior typical for young foals sticking to their dam's hind for protection. It is possible that Midnight had already sensed her mother's process and chose to transition to Belle Amie's maternal energy and experience.
Eventually, Midnight found a distraction in watching a volunteer set up a bonfire. She stood right on the pile of burning wooden debris and let the smoke smudge her whole body as if cleansing herself of grief.
Tasha's Grave
Halliday had a few friends help her bury Tasha that night just a few feet away from the spot she rested for the last time. The next morning, a trail of excavator tracks led me to the grave which was almost invisible behind the bare, nibbled bushes. Hoof prints of different sizes were already covering the fresh, dug up soil - the horses had been all over the site, curious, trying to understand, possibly paying respect to their deceased herd mate.
