A sudden farewell to Simza, the Mother to many

We are all mourning the sad and sudden death of beloved Simza on 17 July. Surrounded by the love and support of the herd, and my partner Mark and I, she died under an oak tree at the top of the farm – the very trees that held her with their strength as she patiently waited for her daughters, Fizz and Selene to be born.

Simza in her prime, galloping with youngest daughter, Selene

It was a shocker of a day and the heartbreak is awful, not just for us all at Llwyna Farm, but for all the clients, friends and family who she touched with her fierce love over the years.

Simza died looking at her daughters, with her dear friend, Wodka, standing behind her with me. He has held her throughout her life and especially through her pregnancies and the death of her mother, Maud.

She died in her prime and still full of love, but a bout of colic was just too much for her to bear.

This picture, below, with her homeland spread before her under a magnificent sky, was Simza’s last poignant view. As Wodka and I stood with her, and my ever-supportive partner, Mark, a sentinel at her side, we all looked out at the herd, who had gone to the bottom of the meadow.

Simza’s last view over the farm, under a magnificent sky

Kneeling at her head, Helen, from Abbey Equine Clinic, with her gentle grace, helped Simza slip away to be with her ancestors. Thank you, Helen, you have a beautiful presence and made Simza’s transition into the stars a beautiful death.

The herd waited until Simza had gone before they came to say their goodbyes. With their deep sensitivity, the horses feel her loss keenly. Corky bit her ear, trying to revive her, and Brodie, the earth warrior, demonstrated (see picture below) the rage that often surfaces after such sudden passings.

Brodie expresses his anger at such a sudden death

As dusk fell that evening and I wept, an owl shrieked as if in dismay at the unfairness and pain of such heartbreak. At times like these, I’m reminded that the more we love, the more loss hurts, but I wouldn’t have it any other way and neither would the herd. So, keep loving and living and letting go when it is our loved ones’ time to move on to new pastures.

The herd and Bugsy say their final goodbyes

Simza has been buried beside Maud, the grandmother of the herd, who died at the ripe old age of 32 in November 2021.

While I am grieving and sending deep prayers of peace for the most beautiful mare who blessed the herd with her tenacious love, I’m mindful that others are mourning her too, and I know her grave, like Maud’s, will be a special place for many people.

I have been so touched this week by clients’ tears of grief; Simza was, and will remain, a Mother to many. On her grave, below, we will plant a baby oak tree given to me as a thank you from a client, two pink Gabriel Oak roses from @spirithorse4 and wild flowers from @wanderingwildflowercreations. My partner, Mark @marklumleyblacksmith is also creating a fire bowl to sit between Maud and Simza’s graves to support the firing up of feminine ancestral love.

Simza is buried beside Maud

Since Simza died Wodka has been taking me to this view, below. I feel him saying “She’s just jumped the fence into the fields beyond that go on and on. Can you feel her too?” I can so feel her huge love and, when I stand and look with Wodka and Selene, I see the most beautiful field, full of trees and life.

Wodka and Selene looking over the neighbouring field

Anyone joining our next family constellation workshop with the herd on 13-14 September will be able to take part in a constellation for Simza and her ancestors, with her daughters, Fizz and Selene.

An opportunity to work through a family or relationship issue, these workshops draw on the interconnectivity of all of life and the wisdom of the ancestral field. There is one constellation space left, so do come if your heart is calling you.

For further work with past relatives, we’re running, for the first time, a Day of the Dead workshop on 1 November, starting and finishing in the Garden of the Ancestors, or the yurt in the event of inclement weather, and with time around the fire bowl sculpture between Maud and Simza’s graves.

Do come if you feel a calling to honour your ancestors, human or animal. It’ll be a time of remembering, embodying and receiving their love and wisdom, with a sound bath and gong healing from Eduardo Vidal.

Taken earlier in July 2025, Simza in the garden of the ancestors with Mark’s Eagle Totem