Generosity

When I was a child I was as horse-crazy as they come. I read all the horse books I could. I drew horses, and horses with girls riding them, until my third grade teacher said, “Enough.” (Whereupon I continued drawing them in secret.) I collected Breyers horses and played with them in the yard, the creek, the woods. Once in a great while, I got to ride one — pony rides at the fair, and that sort of thing. But I never had lessons. Too expensive.

Sometimes I wonder how my life might have been different if I’d been introduced to the real (rather than imaginative) horse world back then. I suspect I would have ended up somewhere in one of the the animal sciences. But of course you never know. I do know that it would have been a good thing in all respects to have had the opportunity to care for a horse back then.

That’s why I appreciate it so much when others are generous with their animals, their expertise, and their time. Our involvement in 4H this year has brought us into contact with some wonderful people who are widening my daughters’ worlds.

My oldest is working with Spitsy, a miniature horse that she’s learning to drive. She’ll need to be evaluated on it eventually and will show him at the fair.

In the process we’re learning a lot about both Spitsy and his owner. His story isn’t all happy. His owner inherited him when she was 10 and he was underweight and very sick, predicted to die. In reality he was only neglected. She cared for him and worked with him and now it’s years later and he’s still going strong, full of personality (and stubbornness, my daughter adds).

Another of her horses was also given to her because its owners couldn’t work with it. At some point in her history, Midnight was abused, and she was hostile toward people. She would rear up and flail her hooves if anyone approached. “What do you do with that?” I asked.

“It sounds scary, but you have to just stand your ground,” she explained. “Move out of the way of the hooves, but stay there. The horse has to see that you’re still there when she comes back down.” She’s a very sweet horse now, still in the process of being desensitized to the many things that might startle or frighten her, but able to be ridden.

Then there are the three horses we met yesterday, all retired from a camp where they were used for trail rides and lessons. Now they’re all near 30 and have various needs, yet their owner has taken them in and is ensuring that their last years involve some quality of life. We spent three hours there yesterday, hours in which the girls learned about grooming, tacking up, feeding, medicating, and of course, riding. Even my younger daughter rode, something she has found too frightening to try before.

The value of these experiences is inestimable. I love that my daughters are being brought into contact with these horses. But I am equally thrilled that they are getting to know these people. They’re benefiting from the wisdom and practical knowledge they will need if they want to pursue their horse interests. But they’re also learning about generosity and heart.