For The Love of A Horse

At about 9:30 tonight it started pouring down rain, so my first thought was to run outside and grab my little girl from the pasture and put her in her nice DRY stall.

I grab my raincoat off the hook and walk downstairs to put my boots on and grab her halter, leadline, and a treat. It's pitch black out and I only get an outline of my surroundings when a flash of lightning brightens the sky. I can see Lilly and I know she's seen my when she starts immediately heading towards the pasture's gate.

As I get closer, she calls to me. A soft whinny, as if she's saying "Mom! 'Bout time you got here." I call out her nickname in response. It's our tradition.

When I get to the gate she steps back to let me in and lowers her head for the halter. The trust I have in my horse is incrediable as I lead her in complete darkness towards her stall. She follows quietly behind with impecable manners, happy to be getting out of the rain.

I lead her into her dark stall and steps in without hesitation and turns her head to face me; lowering it once again and allowing me to slip the halter off. Reaching into my pocket I brandish the treat which she gratefully eats from my hand.

Its moments like this that I cherish with her as I lean against her shoulder and begin to rub and scratch her all over. Her head comes to rest over my shoulder and we're completely still. I close my eyes as I focus on the sounds around me: the pinging of the rain against the rin roof, her soft breathing, and the sound of her licking her lips every so often.

Thirty minutes and a half asleep horse-child later and I'm letting myself out of her stall and shutting it behind me. She seems to wake up then as her head jerks up and she lets out another neigh, asking me to stay with her.

"Bye, Lilly Bear!" I call over my shoulder to her.

Sometimes I wish I could spend every moment like that. Horses give me such a peace of mind.