If you knew your time on earth was nearing its end, where would you want to spend your days? For most horse lovers, the answer is clear: at the barn. Phyllis Ryerson is no exception.
Ryerson, now 87, lived on a farm with her husband earlier in her life. She’s loved horses ever since she was young. Fox 17 in West Michigan reports that she has been diagnosed with stage four esophageal cancer, and she’s making the most of her days with help from Emmanuel Hospice.
When Ryerson told hospice workers that she wanted to pet a horse, they brought her to Equine Assisted Development of the Great Lakes where she had the chance to pet and groom the horses in the barn and feed them treats.
A true horsewoman, Ryerson rubbed a horse named George with her coat so that she could bring home the smell of horses with her, according to a Facebook post from EADGL. In another post, Emmanuel Hospice says she joked that she’d be bringing the barn smell home, and that her husband wouldn’t like it. For horse lovers, some things never change.
Ryerson reportedly smiled throughout her afternoon with the horses and kept a positive mindset, telling Fox 17, “It’s a very comforting thing to know that I’m at the end of a long and wonderful life.”
Leslie Potter is a writer and photographer based in Lexington, Kentucky. www.lesliepotterphoto.com
Leslie Potter is a graduate of William Woods University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Equestrian Science with a concentration in saddle seat riding and a minor in Journalism/Mass Communications. She is currently a writer and photographer in Lexington, Ky.Potter worked as a barn manager and riding instructor and was a freelance reporter and photographer for the Horsemen's Yankee Pedlar and Saddle Horse Report before moving to Lexington to join Horse Illustrated as Web Editor from 2008 to 2019. Her current equestrian pursuits include being a grown-up lesson kid at an eventing barn and trail riding with her senior Morgan gelding, Snoopy.
Horse owners who live in the United States, are 18 years of age and older,…
The crisp New England autumn air was filled with excitement as Equine Affaire returned to…
Things have gone quiet now in Toronto at the Canadian National Exhibition grounds on the…
There’s only one place in North America where you can experience top international horse show…
Horse owners who live in the United States, are 18 years of age and older, and currently own or manage…
Is your horse cold in the winter? The following excerpt from Keeping Horses Outdoors by Iveta Jebáčková-Lažanská helps answer that question…
Welcome to Horse Illustrated’s weekly installment of the Right Horse Adoptable Horse of the Week, offered in partnership with the…
These four common horse training mistakes are easier to catch and correct when you’re aware of them. As a clinician,…
If you appreciate sport horses of many different breeding backgrounds, types and colors, the American Warmblood will unite you with…
LENNOX, S.D. — Every great innovation begins with a moment of clarity, and for ZahnTech's founder, Avery Zahn, it came…