RicelandMeadows

Jake and Heather working Ruby and Duke

October 12, 2011

 

     My youngest son is about as horse crazy as I am. He was working a pair of our horses in the photo above. His new bride trails behind, thinking she’d make the sled too heavy 😮  She did eventually ride and was quietly amazed at the horse’s strength and grace.

 

     My love for horses runs deep in my blood. My grandfathers and great grandfathers on both sides of my family were horsemen. My dad was a horse nut too and “the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree”, as they say.

 

     I got my first pony when I was in the second grade. The pony and I spent countless hours together. A year or so later, we got another pony and I had them hitched to a sled by the first snowfall of that year. The ponies were hooked and so was I.

 

     I got my first draft horse in 1986. There has been no looking back. I did enjoy my ponies before then and had owned several nice teams. The draft horses. however, became my passion. I have owned several nice teams and currently have three terrific geldings that work our farm.

 

     My sons grew up around the gentle beasts. My oldest, though he likes the farm and garden, is almost fearful of the horses. He is better suited for oxen 😮 They are a little slower and more to his liking. My youngest has enjoyed the horses since his first introduction. He is a good teamster and has the uncanny understanding needed, to communicate with the horses, much like Doctor Doolittle.

 

     My love for horses is contagious enough, that even my step-sons like the furry beasts. They both were bullriders and the youngest still contests with gaming horses regularly. He even moved to a western state to immerse himself in all things cowboy! We are not blood bound, but are definitely heart bonded.

 

     I don’t want to think about a life that doesn’t include farm animals. I can make  that statement without hesitation. I will go out a bit further on the limb and say that a day without draft horses is a sad day in my book. I had a short period when I had to choose eating, over having horses. Those few months had me in the dumps, as I struggled with the lack of money and had no horse mane to wipe my tears on.

 

     There is no question that a love for horses is in the blood. It pleases me that I have passed that love on to many who surround me. Horses and men will come and go, but the love from one to the other, will go on forever.