I know I am in trouble with some of my followers for my absence from the blog for the last two months. No excuses. But I do apologize to those of you who tell me you enjoy my blog.
There is always something going on around this farm. We have been hauling horses home from the trainers. We have been hauling horses to the breeding shed. We have been doctoring horses. There is always something going on with the horses. The better they are the more likely they are to get into trouble or hurt themselves.
Case in point..... Yesterday David went to feed the horses. We have two weanlings in the lower barn. It is a tobacco barn we have been remodeling. Of course, I am the gofer. Go for this and go for that. That has been my main job for several months now as we were getting ready for the ACTHA CTC. For those of you who don't know that is the American Competitive Trail Horse Association and CTC stands for Competitive Trail Competition.
But I am off track. All of that really has nothing to do with David going to feed the horses. Except we have two weanlings in the remodeled tobacco barn and two at the stock barn. The two at the stock barn were nowhere to be seen when David walked into the barn to feed yesterday morning. The gate was wide open and the two weanlings had escaped. One we have named WOF Watch Me Go. Melissa calls him "Phoenix".. The other is his sister WOF Whispering Hope.
David called me in some what of a panic telling me he had looked in all the usual places the horses go when they escape. He had looked in Mike's yard, in my yard and around the barn. I told him he needed to looked in the woods below the barn. It is right next to the fence that runs below the barn. He had looked there. So he hung up and went back to looking for them.
A couple of hours later, I received the following text message on my phone:
"BREAKING NEWS:
This just in, in a major horse hunt taking place in Spencer Co Ky, two suspects were just apprehended in the southern region of the Whispering Oaks Farm near a horse pasture. When asked why they attempted their daring escape, Watch Me Go aka Phoenix replied, 'we just wanted to see our mommies.'
I am David Luttrell reporting for WOF News."
Tell me this place isn't a million laughs a day.
But sometimes things are not so funny on the farm.
There was the day we went to feed in the morning and I noticed a terrible cut on Phoenix's leg. The only thing we could think that could have caused a cut such as that was that he cut it on the tin on the sliding door that opened into the barn. We have not used that door for years and it had rusted on the bottom. He must have laid down and when he got up he caught it under the door. It was a little thing that we had not noticed and it caused a big problem. We are still doctoring his leg. David changes the bandages every few days. We have had the vet with him several times. The first thing he did was stitch it up. It hurt me to look at it. But after several weeks we can see he is healing and will probably not have a scar.
Another happy experience we had lately was Flair for Fury's homecoming. This story will be in the next issue of the UMH magazine. You will be able to read that magazine on line when you go to www.unitedmountainhorse.org. The publication date is sometime after Christmas.
Bob backed the trailer up to the end of the barn and backed her off of the trailer. You could tell when the door swung open that she was excited. She was excited because she was home. She knew it in every fiber of her body. Bob led her to her stall and she didn't want in there. She called to the other horses. She paced, she jumped and she was ready to go out because she had been away from home since last March and she was ready to run free.
But we didn't let her out until the next morning. She was almost trembling with excitement when David led her out of the barn and removed her halter. She didn't run right away. She stood in the field for a brief moment and then she ran. She ran, she bucked, she jumped and then she would stand in the field and her nostrils would flare. She was smelling the sweet smells of home.
It is rather strange in a way that she considers this home. She was raised and trained at Van Bert Farms until after her second show season. It wasn't until the end of her Yearling Show Year that she was brought here. Then we brought her home and turned her out for the winter. It was just before her second birthday that we loaded her up and took her back to Van Bert's to put her under saddle.
She has freedom here that she doesn't have there. She surprised me this last spring when Brandon rode her down to the arena and she bucked some. It was still cool and she was feeling good but I really didn't expect her to do it. She didn't buck when the saddle went on her the first time and Brandon climbed into it. But last spring she had the winter off and now she had to go back to work. And she was feeling good. No big bucks just a few little hops. I suppose you couldn't really call it bucking.
So Flair is home again and enjoying her turn out time. She is looking nice and shabby. Her coat is getting thick ready for winter.
Code of Honor is also home and ready to be turned out. He now has four colts on the ground. The last one is a filly out of a mare named Dock's Darling. I think the filly's name will be WOF Bill's Lil Darlin. I have had several suggestions. Tell me which one you like best. WOF Bill's Lil Darlin(she was born on my late husband's birthday) WOF Code's Lil Darlin, WOF Maid of Honor, WOF Code's Hello Dolly, WOF's Code's Hello Darlin. All good names if you ask me.
Well it all starts me thinking of the homecoming that awaits us at the end of our life on earth. I think we will probably be like Flair. We will be so happy to meet Jesus face to face that we may jump for joy as Flair did when she got home. As we get older I think our thoughts turn more toward Heaven than we ever think about it in our youth. Why should we. We are young, we are full of life, we have so much energy and so much to which we look forward as we face the future. We are eager to see what life has in store for us.
As I get older, my body is tired, my feet hurt and my bones ache. Now more and more I look forward to rest. It is God's way of preparing us for our homecoming. We will be free of the worldly trails and tribulations. We won't have to go to the funerals of people who have died too young. We won't have to say good-bye to old friends. We won't have to worry about our future health. Will our minds leave us before our body gives up?
Those are questions for another day but today I am enjoying the thoughts of my family being here Sunday as we celebrate Thanksgiving. Today I am thanking God for the safe return of my son Steve who has been in Guam for several months and just landed in Gulf Port just hours ago.
God bless you Steve for your service to our country in these very trying times. Welcome home and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. I love you all dearly. I have missed you.
Also Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your families. May God bless and keep each of you in His loving care. May He place his hedge of protection around you and those you love.
Regards
Mary
From Dear Abby (years ago)
God bless these dirty dishes
they have a tale to tell
While other folks may go hungry
We're eating mighty well
With home and health and happiness
We shouldn't want to fuss
For by this stack of evidence
We see God is very good to us.
