“Chirpa is one of our rescued mustangs and part of our EAGALA team [at the Unbridled Heroes Project]. She is the lead mare and has been instrumental in therapy work for our clients. The incredible work she does goes above and beyond what the human mind can comprehend.
When my mother had terminal cancer and only weeks to live, this mustang would gently rustle her hair as she sat in the sun. She conveyed peace and calm and let my mom simply enjoy the moment. But it wasn’t until my mother was actively dying that we understood what Chripa could do.
My mother spent her last weeks at home, mostly unconscious and unresponsive, but she woke up one night and with pure joy, described a black horse. I cannot fully describe the look on her face, but it was obvious to me that she was in another place—a place without pain and suffering. She closed her eyes, and those words she spoke about a black horse were the last words she ever said to me.
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During the last few days of her life, the hospice workers asked us if we had all said our goodbyes because they couldn’t understand why she was still holding on. The only thing I could think of is that my mother was waiting to feel a horse’s breath on her face one more time.
We trailered Chirpa to our house and she walked right in and up to my mother, gently nuzzling her hair as she had always done. After a few minutes, she looked at me and I just knew that whatever needed to be done was done. My mother’s breathing had shifted to more peaceful rhythm and she died hours later in my arms. This was the greatest gift. Even when nobody could reach her, this horse was still somehow able to touch my mother’s soul.
We are now partnered with a hospice home and will be bringing our medicine horse to live on 26 acres at the Villa Marie Claire hospice home. Chirpa is truly an angel sent from above. She’d changed hundreds of lives but it wasn’t until she changed a death that I realized she was capable of far more than I could ever imagine.” —Amy M.
Note: Video contains images of hospice care.
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