A little over 20 years ago, Chris and I officially got out of the horse business. We had a small seven-acre farm in Maryland with five horses—all but one we raised from foals. The last winter there, we often had snow up to our knees. The barns, which were very nice, didn’t handle the extra melt very well, so we were bailing out stalls from time to time. It was just difficult. We looked at each other and said, “It’s time.” That meant that it was time to find wonderful homes for our horses and downsize. Getting out of the horse business is a good deal harder than getting into it. It’s emotional. It’s physical. It’s spiritual. Anyone who ever had horses can relate. Now, when we get a chance to be with horses, we surely take it.
Our travels recently found us visiting my cousin Denise and her husband Mark in Charlotte, NC. Cousins John and Donna live nearby on their horse farm. Donna raises and shows champion American Saddlebreds and Arabians. Out of her humble farm comes some of the greatest horses in the nation. She and Denise always loved horses. They had offspring of my Dad’s champion Quarter Horse stallion, Hollywood Hummer. Donna was telling the story of when Dad had her ride Hollywood at a contest show in Ohio when she was a teenager. She didn’t want to wear a hat, which was required for some crazy reason. Dad told her to flip the hat off when she came out of the gate. She won the barrel race that day (Hollywood was rarely beaten) and all the men were really mad that a country girl beat them.
Now John and Donna (brother and sister) live on the horse farm. Donna trains. John takes care of operations. They have a couple of young people (who very kindly laughed at our old timer stories) helping muck the stalls. The trip to Donna’s place brought back a lot of memories. It started with the old manure spreader parked outside her barn. We had one just like it on the farm in Ohio. I told the story of how one of our horses waiting to go into the barn at feeding time one day got kicked by the other horses. Somehow, he landed in the manure spreader on his back with all four legs sticking up in the air. We had to figure out a way to tip the spreader to get him out without hurting him. Truth is stranger than fiction.
If you really love horses and haven’t been around them for a while, it’s the most wonderful feeling just to rub your hands on them and talk to them. I love how they respond. I held my hand flat and Donna’s Arab stallion Snickers would playfully nibble at may palm. King liked to be rubbed under his chin. I just wanted to rub my hands over them and relish that unmistakable “horse” smell. It’s just that way. We still dream about our horses, the feel of their soft noses and the many aromas of horses, leather, hay and grain. Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.” For us, every time we are around horses, we also thank the Lord for them. And, while you may not “get it,” we didn’t want to wash our hands that day because we love the smell of horses.
