A Real "Horse Story"

About a year ago (maybe longer), my sister-in-law, Bonnie. renewed a life-long interest in horses by taking riding lessons at a stable near her home. She took lessons for a while, and eventually 'leased' or took some kind of temporary ownership of a horse named Storm that she particularly enjoyed riding and caring for. Before long, the stable owner decided to offer Storm for sale. When Bonnie started to consider someone else taking her favorite horse, she convinced my brother, Neil, that she should buy Storm. Hence, Storm became the first horse we have ever had in our immediate family . . . at least since my grandparents were young and owned horses for primary transportation. :-) It is at least noteworthy that our cousins, Scott and Nannette, have horses on their farm, and their girls ride competitively. But these are "cousin" horses at best, right? So Storm is a first in many ways. And Bonnie has since moved her charge to a barn within walking distance of their home where she can easily take care of most of his needs and ride him frequently.

Of course, riding on trails and other terrain is part of the fun of owning a horse, so Bonnie and Neil eventually became the proud owners of a horse trailer so they can transport Storm whenever necessary. The horse trailer has become a fixture next to Neil's pole barn when not in use. And rumor has it that Storm is getting used to the trailer even though he wasn't too crazy about the thing to begin with.

Well, evidently these trailers are pretty heavy! The Jimmy was evidently straining with the weight of the trailer . . . and a horse has to weigh quite a bit, too. So recently, the equestrian collection expanded to include a pickup! The pickup will also come in handy for all those home improvement projects like hauling stone or building supplies or borrowing tools from Dad, who seems to have collected a few over the years. But I have to admit that truck ownership kind of runs in the family; and it wouldn't be unusual for one to pop up here and there even without a horse to justify it.

One of these days I am going to actually check in over at the barn and MEET this gallant steed. I'm sure he is quite a charmer. In the meantime, all I know is that little Gabe said "neigh, neigh" right after he said Mama and Dada. And I think his Nana had something to do with that. :-)

Maybe Bonnie will chime in here and fill in some of the details about her pride and joy! Are there any other horse people out there?