Third Post of the Day
Oh, my heart indeed! Sultanna came when I called without any delay. She remembered and responded to that call and my heart overflowed with gratitude.
Leading Eazy with Hokey following some distance behind.
Well, hello sweet girl! I've missed you, and yes, of course I have a treat for you.
Eazy's response was a big surprise. When Tim bought him last summer, he'd been running free on the range out in Texas almost his entire life. He was barely halter broken and had no interest in a relationship with humans.
That has sure changed! For the first time ever, HE approached ME rather than vice versa, and he wanted carrots and petting!
Eazy contentedly chewing. Clearly Tim has been working with him and he now sees humans as friends (and food sources. LOL)
Hokey continued to remain close to Sultanna. I checked his left eye and it was clear he had no sight in it.
The carrots disappeared fast and since it was hot (in the 90s and very humid), they headed to the water trough for a drink.
Eazy is definitely the low horse in the herd pecking order, but they all got along while I was there - no ear pinning, neck snaking, or being chased off from the water.
Sultanna is the herd alpha now - long gone are the days when she was in Eazy's place!
As for Hokey, he's hanging in there, but as Tim pointed out, he's graying all over his face (see it over his eye?), he can hardly see out of his good eye, his back is beginning to sway, and he moves slowly. "He looks pretty worn out," Tim texted, and I agree.
As a child, I dreamed of horse ownership, but those dreams were of the rainbows and (dare I say it??) unicorns type. Happy days in the sun, rides by the Wabash, hanging out on sunny days, and so forth. And much of having a horse is like that - those wonderful days that we wish could go on forever.
But the reality is that there will be hard days of illness, injuries, growing old, and more. The trick is to enjoy those happy days, and then when the hard ones come, help your horse get through them by the care and love you give them.
I'm sad that Hokey is looking so old. I'm sad that Sultanna is not in foal. I'm still grieving the loss of Abby and Two Socks.
But in the end, I love every one of these horses and I am so grateful that they've been part of my life. The happy times outweigh the sad ones, and I accept that, to have that horsey joy, I have to be willing to have the horsey sadness that comes with it.
Because, in the end, the joyful times are worth it.
