Pink Think: “A horse is the projection of peoples’ dreams about themselves – strong, powerful, beautiful – and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence.” –Pam Brown
photo: Emmie (top) and Lovey
Our place is overrun with critters.
First, my little beagle Emmie got sick (she’s better now).
And then yesterday I rode a 10 year old Arabian mare named Lovey to check her out for our ten year old daughter. My husband will be bringing her home today. She joins our herd as the fifth horse.
My daughter woke up this morning saying she had a dream that “we had too many horses in our pen.”
“Guess what,” I said, laughing. “We do.”
***
Four years ago, I’d never thought I’d be going down to a stranger’s place to check out a horse by myself, to tack it up and ride it. I met the guy at this huge, beautiful log house with a red barn behind and horses grazing in a pasture right smack in the middle of city.
He had been gruff on the phone with me, an old-school cowboy. I wanted to take my time deciding about the horse, “We can go later in the week” but he said he was going to be out of town for three weeks starting then. “That’s too bad it didn’t work out,” he intoned.
My oldest said, “Don’t get pressured into buying a horse.”
Darn right! So I meekly put aside everything else and went down yesterday right after I dropped my youngest off to school.
Lovey’s owner was 26 and got killed in a car accident this past weekend. Her funeral was yesterday. The family wanted to find another home for Lovey immediately. The guy who showed me Lovey was the neighbor, trying to help the family. A mutual friend thought of us. We have been thinking of getting a different horse for our youngest since her horse, Wixie, is starting to slow down.
***
I’m used to quarter horses. They are stocky built, calm creatures. Arabians on the other hand have a well-deserved reputation for being hot and flighty. Lovey got excited for a little bit, then calmed down.
She was small and easy to lead around. Her skin was soft like pelt and her eyes were kind. I couldn’t get her to lope. Not yet. My oldest who is the most horse savvy of us said it might be a respect issue.
I hope so. I hope she will turn out to be a good horse.
Because when my youngest meets Lovey today, she will probably fall in love with her like I did. Don’t you just hate it when critters grow on you?
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