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My mother was a horse trader. Not one of those that gives horse traders the reputation for fleecing unsuspecting horse buyers (and less experienced horse traders) by representing three-legged man-hating horses as kid-safe and sound. Still, sainthood will forever elude her.

My family engaged in pretty much any horse-related activity that can turn a profit. We rented, boarded, bought, and sold horses. We supplied ponys for pony rides at parties and events, and horses for the judges at field dog trials. And for a fee, we picked up dead and injured livestock from the homes of distraught owners. Most of these were anxious to get the ordeal of a dead or terminal horse over with as quickly as possible. They were content to have us pick up their animal and leave with as little spectacle as possible. Some were not quite so accomodating.

The phone rang one morning. In a tearful voice, a woman spoke to my mother. "My name is Rebecca Rhoades, and my horse Charlie just d-died," she sobbed. "I have no idea what to do with him now. Do you pick up d-dead horses?"

No funeral mortician who ever consoled a grieving patron could exude more sympathy and compassion than could my mother, the horse trader. "Yes, we do pick up dead horses. Judging by the pain evident in your voice, you obviously loved Charlie very much. How long did you have him?"

"I've had him since I was 12 years old. I grew up with him. He was 10 years old when my Dad bought him for me, but he's 29, now. Well... I mean he was 29."

When horse owners called and said their old horse had died, or that they had one that was terminally ill and would need to be put down (euthenized, if you prefer), they occasionally asked what we did with the body. My mother would describe our farm, and explain that we had a special section of the farm where we buried the horses. Few people ever elected to have any kind of marker or memorial. Indeed, nobody ever visited the graves of these horses. Fortunately.

When Rebecca asked, Mom's response was a variation on this theme. "We have 200 acres of gently rolling meadows, partially wooded, with one particularly pleasant hillside overlooking a scenic pond. Our own horses graze nearby. I think Charlie would like it here very much. You could say goodbye to him in your own familiar, comfortable surroundings, then we could pick him up and lay him to rest here. How does that sound?"

Rebecca thought about it for a few moments, then said that she would like to visit our farm, to see Charlie's final resting

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