HORSE SEASONS I - NEW FRIENDS, THE PONIES

TRESPASSING IN STANDING ROCK RANCH

When I was sixteen, I sold my horse Rex and rode him the seven miles to his new home. When a few weeks later I jumped aboard the troller Rap III in Southeastern Alaska, I thought my days riding and caring for a horse were over. They were until I was in my sixties and trespassing on Standing Rock Ranch with Lacey exploring the Wenatchee River shoreline. OH! OH! Fearless Lacey was mixing it up with two dogs letting Lacey know in no uncertain terms that this was their property. Watching the dogs do what dogs do, a woman stood with hands on her hips and I highly suspected that she more than likely owned the property.

Alls well that ends well. With horses grazing nearby, it didn’t take long for Mary to discover my passionate interest in horses. Mary also discovered that while she had a lifetime of experience with horses, I had two adolescent years of experiences with one horse.

Now you add that Mary needed someone to care for her horses in Standing Rock while she tended to business in Bellevue. Within the hour Lacey and I were walking home and I had a new job as caretaker for four horses.

I’m not sure which was the greater feeling; the thrill I felt at being with horses again after fifty years or the total intimidation I felt interacting with these huge animals.

Mary assured me, “You’ll be fine. I can teach you what you need to know.”

Soon Mary and her horses would be my friends.

NEW FRIENDS

NEW FRIENDS HAVE NEEDS

You guessed it, Tia and Smokey are watching me drive by in my Ford pickup. Now I might like to think they are glad to see me because I’m their friend. Or could it be the bale of hay in the back of the truck? Or is it that the water in the tubs is getting low? Or maybe they have an itch on the top of their withers and would like to feel a curry brush stroking their coats? Yes, horses have needs and they like to have them fulfilled just like we all do! It’s great to be their friend but they also have to respect me or they will push me around -in short – bully me. I had to learn that the hard way. Once we understood each other, they were wonderful friends!

Taking care of horses is way more than occasionally throwing on a saddle and riding the trails and meadows. Before the saddle blanket plops down on a horse’s back, the horse needs to be groomed to make sure the coat is clean and shiny! And it needs to be done right. “Hey Mary, how do I get this knot out of Tino’s mane without yanking on it?” “Tim, this is how you do it.” “All right.”