A Little Blessing, Please!

Before we begin, a quick disclaimer.  This is intended to be a humorous anecdote and a bit of stress relief for me.  Please do not take offense at the content.

It’s been a frustrating month.  I’m still driving two hours any time I want to visit the horses, which isn’t so bad when you actually get to ride, however, I’ve struck out three times in a row and it stinks. 

In early August, Admiral developed a large bump on his back.  Our best guess is that he rolled on a rock.  I never claimed he was the smartest horse in the pasture.  Under most circumstances, my first line of treatment with swellings on horses is to let them be for a bit and keep an eye on things.  Well, the bump that was originally about the size of my hand, has slowly been shrinking, an encouraging sign.  Admiral, however, still takes offence when you poke and prod on it and until yesterday, riding was out of the question.   With a cut-out pad and the saddle a bit further back than normal, we were able to walk, trot, and do a tiny bit of canter.  Being back in the saddle is a wonderful feeling!  It was hard not to push and only do the tiniest bit of work, but just a little work-out caused the bump to grow the slightest amount, so keeping it light was a good plan.  Thankfully, Admiral hasn’t lost much cardiovascular fitness (he’s in better shape than me), but he has lost quite a bit of carrying muscle, so we’re going to be spending the winter rebuilding – story of our lives.

I’ve been out of the saddle for a month because apparently, Nutmeg really doesn’t want to try out her super awesome new dressage bridle.  After her brief vacation following the Heritage Horse Trials, she threw a shoe.  Her way of saying, “More vacation please!”  We’re trying to build fence and stalls at home, so a brief hiatus wasn’t going to leave me board out of my mind.  We didn’t make an emergency farrier call.  He’d be back in a week or so anyway.  Well, in that week, the weather turned to fall – absolute perfect riding weather and I really started to get the itch.  Plus, another show opportunity was dangled in front of me and I still hadn’t tested out the new bridle.  Definitely time to get back in the saddle.  Nutmeg of course had other plans.  The same day she got her shoe fixed, she through a temper-tantrum, ending in some seriously sore muscles throughout her neck, back and front legs.  I’ve seen a lot of sore horses, like after pulling themselves and their riders up and down slick Missouri river bluffs for a day, but I’ve never seen a horse that sore.  Needless to say, no riding in the new bridle, no prepping for the show, just a highly disappointed me, worried about Miss Nutmeg and Mr. Admiral.

Fittingly, October 3^rd is World Animal Day and St. Peter Church offers free blessings for animals to mark the commemoration of Saint Francis of Assisi – the patron saint of animals.  You can email a photo of your animal and they’ll bless it for you.  Sign me up!  Where’s the camera?  Both ponies are going to get a blessing!  Check out the link.  http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2011/09/195.shtml

    

Will I actually send them in?  Probably not.  In all honestly, we’re already very blessed.  I’ve got two personable and talented horses to ride or just snuggle with if that’s how the chips fall.  I’ve got a husband, who realizing I was a bit down, packed me up and sent me off for a day of tack shopping with a great friend.  I’ve got an owner who will bend over backwards to take good care of the ponies when they’re not feeling top-notch.  I’ve got friends who have a knack for getting me out to the barn, even when I’m skeptical about riding.  We’re blessed already and I seriously doubt sprinkling some holy water on a picture will change our luck.

Thankfully, things are looking up.  I spent an unfortunate amount of money tack shopping, but really did keep myself to the essentials.  Admiral is back in light work and a happy camper.  After a couple days of rest and some liniment massages, Nutmeg is feeling less sore and the final pieces of our fencing came in two weeks early.  Happy Dance!  It’s always a roller coaster ride, but I’ll keep trying to keep my perspective fresh and forward, letting the hills and valleys come as they may.

A Lesson in Faith

If you read either of my “Packing” blogs, you know I’m a bit obsessive about being prepared when traveling with horses.  Actually, I’m a bit obsessive about being prepared period.  So, when I heard there was a group of five riders traveling from Iowa to Mississippi by horseback, my head began to reel with the logistics.  I figured they could probably teach me a thing or two about packing.  Turns out they had a lot to teach, but packing wasn’t the point.

The group is on what they have dubbed, “The Freedom Trail Ride.”  They are riding from Decatur City, Iowa to Vicksburg, Mississippi, about an 800 mile trek.  The horses won’t step foot on a trailer the whole way there. 

Their mission is two-fold.  They are raising awareness and funds for a four day camp for handicapped kids called Horses 4 Handicapped.  The camp allows handicapped kids to come ride and enjoy horses at absolutely no cost and runs entirely on volunteers and donations.  It takes place annually in April.  They are also escorting a Vietnam Vet home after 42 years.  When he returned from Vietnam, the town basically kicked him out, now he’s hoping to be welcomed home.  The horses and the wagon with the names of his platoon on the side, will make-up his homecoming parade.

I meant to stop by the fairgrounds where they were camping for five, ten, maybe fifteen minutes.  I was there for over an hour and wished I could have stayed longer.  You expect interesting stories from travelers, but this group has a special passion and an incredible spirit.  Their stories were a real eye-opener.

If I was going to travel more than ten miles by horseback, I’d have a map with predetermined stopping points, places to water, places to get food, and most importantly places to spend the night.  Heck, I try to plan out my seven mile canoe trip like that and there aren’t any animals depending on my planning then.  I asked them about their itinerary. 

“Head down 65 ‘till we cross the Mississippi.” 

That’s the extent of it.  They ride as far as they can, then stop for the night.  They left Decatur City with an expectation to camp alongside the highway.  It hasn’t happened yet.  Each and every night, someone has offered them a place to stay.  What’s more, they’ve got a trailer with hay, feed, and other supplies that they leave behind each morning.  Every night, someone offers to drive one of them back twenty or so miles so they can pick the truck and trailer up and bring it along.  They’ve had people go out of their way to water their horses, cook them meals, offer them showers and more.  I’ll admit, my faith in humanity is not that good and I told them as much.  Their response, (I paraphrase)

“It’s not just faith in humanity; it’s faith in something bigger.  It’s faith in God.  You’ve got to know he’s watching out for us.”

That hit me like a two-by-four.  Well duh!  You can plan and make lists and write itineraries until you’re pens all run out of ink and something will still go wrong, or at least not according to plan.  They wake up each morning with a fresh perspective and no preconceived notions about what the day will hold.  They’ve got the faith to get them to the next stopping point, and the next, and the next.  They’re not worried about when, where, and what they’ll eat.  They are focused on the goal and enjoying the journey to get there.  Sounds a lot like life to me.  We know the end goal.  We’ve just got to keep taking the steps to get there. 

They had one more lesson for me too.  I thought I’d offer them a really nice place to stay.  A place designed to cater to horses.  It was just two miles off of 65 Hwy.  They appreciated the offer I’m sure, but they didn’t want to travel the extra four miles.  What’s four miles when you’re traveling 800?!?  Well, its four miles when you’re not working toward that end goal.  Its four miles when you aren’t making progress.  I’m sure stalls for the horses and beds for the humans was a huge temptation, but they weren’t going to stray from the trail.  It’s onward, onward, with no detours.

It was an odd feeling to watch them head down the road again. I was filled with anticipation for them and all they will encounter along the way.  I tried not to worry about the narrow shoulders and increasingly tuff terrain and weather they would be facing, and I was left with a feeling gratitude and loss.  In a little over an hour they taught me some important lessons.  What other fresh perspectives could they have shared if I stayed for two or three hours or saddled up and joined them?  

This is the video story I put together for work.  I do have the best job!