Remembering Elliott

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that I don’t take pictures for granted. When asked how I got into photography I will always tell the story of how my family lost three horses suddenly, including my first pony. I was devastated when I realized just how few pictures I had of them all, so I picked up a cheap point and shoot camera and just started snapping photo after photo.

I always figured that the next time I lost a horse, and that if I was ever given the opportunity to prepare ahead of time, that I would have an easier time to manage because at least I would have pictures this time. My family has two senior mares in their 30’s. I’ve been expecting the time to come sooner rather than later. What I didn’t expect was that the next horse we would have to put down would be Elliott, the 16 year old son of one of those senior mares.

Elliott was the first horse I ever raised from birth. I grew up on the back of his mother. We showed Trillium during high school, did Pony Club, and attended numerous Parelli clinics together. The plan was always for Elliott to pick up where his mother left off, but the universe had different plans.

Elliott was not an easy horse to handle. Turns out being raised by a stubborn, know it all teenager isn’t the best way to train a horse. He taught me a lot, though they weren’t the lessons I was expecting to learn from him. And though Elliott matured quite a bit as he and I both grew up, he was happiest staying home so he rarely left the property.

Elliott was diagnosed with a Squamous Cell Carcinoma on April 8th of this year, exactly 13 years after we lost those three horses suddenly. After that, we had two and a half months together before making the decision to have him put down to save him any pain and discomfort. During those two months, I spent every second I could with him. I took picture after picture, mostly cell snaps because my cell phone was always with me, but we also planned out some nice photos that I still haven’t had time to edit.

I can now say for certain that it doesn’t matter how much time you have. There’s never enough pictures. I have thousands of Elliott from the past few months alone and it doesn’t feel like enough. I’m sure, after some time, that feeling will disappear, but just knowing that I won’t be able to take any more pictures of him stings right now.

I am grateful to everyone who trusts me to capture their memories, and honoured to be given that privilege. To me, photography isn’t just clicking a button and taking pictures. I create lifelong memories that I know will be cherished for years to come. I know that every client’s horse is their Elliott, and I always treat them as such.