This was left as a comment by Steve and several of you have written that you appreciated reading it. I am posting it here so mover can enjoy it. Not a comment, as I have not had a barn in 40 years. I’m just a Grump (now an old one), so named by my grandpa because I was always laughing as a boy. Draft horses and riding/working horses were his stock passion. I was 12 and the only one around when a mare started to foal, so I assisted her. Now mind we had no stalls in barns (barns were for the dairy cows), but we did have a small lot seeded in lush grass for a mare to foal and our foals came mostly in April. Gramps gave me that foal, a colt. One of his Barb-Quarter horse crosses. He said raise this colt and teach him what he needs to know to earn a living and learn from him how to make yours. That colt taught me more than I ever did him. He was the smartest,most motivated horse I ever rode, ready to work and you best be, no excuses accepted. No reiner like yours, but he worked off legs, voice, and his own senses. Drop the reins and he would cut anything in front off him, need to heel a calf and he would put you exactly where you needed to be, watch the rope and oh-so-gently set the brakes so the calf hardly knew he was laying on the ground. While all the horses would come at a call, he waited every morning at the gate. Till one morning he wasn’t. Found him stretched out so peacefully gone to a better place. No torn up ground from him struggling in pain, no wounds, just like his Master called and he laid down and said ok, my work here is done. That was near fifty years ago and I still miss him. While I had some nice ones after, I never found one with his brains or ways. I miss him still. I don’t ride any longer, too many pins and screws holding me together, but if I found his twin today, I’d mount up. All that to say I understand your sense of loss. As an aside, Gramps didn’t care to much for official “papers”. What he wanted, and taught me, was a sound horse with some brains and a gentle way of working. We didn’t know anything (and I still don’t) about all this natural horsemanship I hear so much about. I was taught to wait for that first saddling till the horse told me he was ready. Sometimes that was a few weeks, sometimes it was months. But the result was always the same – a horse mostly smarter than you with a smooth way of moving, a kind gentle way and willing to work you to the bone. God bless you and yours and the critters whose owners are smart enough to consult you. (note: this was originally posted under stacywestfallhorseblog/2014/10/26/do-you-decorate-your-horse-barn-for-fall/#comment-38352)
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 18:19:31 +0000
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