Dad's Slides: The Wabash River - Horse Heaven

I grew up living on the Wabash River. We had nine acres of riverfront and woods.

Our home was up on the moraine (which is why we never worried about flood damage to our home) with the front pasture below it. That pasture would flood when the river rose, but we had a paddock and two other pastures where we could put the horses when the river was running high.

This picture was taken from the hill above the bluff. You can see some more of the front pasture, the highway that cut through our property, and the river pasture along with the Wabash River behind it. A third pasture and our paddock and barn is behind the pines on the left.

Having the river to ride around and explore was just the best, and Leslie and I spent a lot of time with our horses on its banks.

 This was back in the days when I could hop up bareback and ride with just a halter and lead rope!

Our herd loved that river grass. We had to be careful the first few weeks of spring when we opened the river pasture up for grazing as we didn't want them to colic or founder.

 Amy was so beautiful. Like Abby, she had a lot of sass and personality, but she was gentle and willing, too.

Since the river's channel was on the far side from us, the shallows were along our pasture. Leslie and I loved to ride in the shallows. The horses would paw and drink, and once, on a very hot day, Cee laid down with me for a roll! (Luckily I was riding bareback and just stepped off him when he went down.)

I love that river and have ever since I was a little girl. It is a symbol of Indiana and has inspired authors and poets. Johnny Cash wrote If it wasn't for the Wabash River  and also sang Wabash Cannonball. There's  Back Home Again in Indiana with its signature line "When I dream about the moonlight on the Wabash," and the Indiana state song, On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away  

I know what that river looks like in the moonlight. With horses drinking from it, or two girls cantering along its banks. The Wabash was a little slice of heaven to me then as a young girl, and it remains near and dear to my heart today.