Like the beam of a lightless star (W.S. Merwin) … This time of year makes me think of the people and animals who aren’t in this world any more but who impacted my life, even if it was for a short time. Below is Piaff, the Dutch warmblood gelding I wrote about in Equine ER whose presence touched each person who came into contact with him.

Everyone knows the truth of what horse trainer, poet, and writer Vicki Hearne once said: “In over 25 years of training, I have never seen an animal who was replaceable.”