Wednesday, November 13, 2013

I worry about horses

I worry about the horses, not just the horses that come into us but horses in general. In a world where more and more people toss out their spouses , lovers, friends and even family for not "making them happy" in a world where people spends thousands and undergo extensive  painful treatments and plastic surgeries to appear perfect rather than work for it or accept aging as part of the natural process  , and where we can instantly get whatever we want with a click of a mouse or phone keypad  its a hard time to be an animal that is not only expensive but also not always ideal or instantly meets our expectations. We are a world of  people that impatiently tap our feet at the microwave , Horses take patience and work , they have bad days and good days and none are completely perfect everyday. How do  they fit in to such a demanding world ?
I worried about Allante , he is a beautiful horse, watching him trot and canter will stop you in your tracks and you cant help but imagine him running through a desert in some exotic land of his ancestors. He loves people and enjoys attention . But Allante was kept in a pen by himself for so many years that when one of the other horses were introduced to him he ran to the corner of the barn by the mirror and cowered next to his own reflection for comfort. He wouldnt go up to the other horse and nearly knocked people over trying to get away from any horses near him. At first I thought maybe they kept him alone because he was the bully but its very obvious he's been through something awful where another horse hurt him pretty bad. One of the greatest things about horses is watching them in a herd , seeing the buddies groom each other and the group stand head to swishing tail to keep the flies at bay and when group gets bucking and running its a sight nobody can watch without smiling and admiring  what has to be nature's proudest creation. To see that a horse that never got to enjoy being in a herd is heartbreaking. 

He is 21 years old and doesnt really know how to interact with another horse can we fix this or is he only going to be able to find a home with someone who has no other horses ? At his age most people already wrote him off as too old what are his odds if he has to be an only horse? Not great and it would be a sin to not let him get the redemption he deserves by having a person of his own to love after such a weird life. Al is just a great horse in so many ways someone would be missing out as well.

Today Al has blended in pretty well with the herd and has particularly started hanging out with the ol coots Sassy, Absolute and Resolute. It may seem incredibly pedestrian to a lot of people but seeing him munching away next to the girls made my eyes leak a bit  There is hope he can be part of a herd but is there hope he will ever find a way to be part of a family? Will he ever get his own person who will groom him and take him for rides and bring him treats just because he's a cutie? Will they do right by him when he does finally slow down ( judging by how he moves that wont be for a quite a while) and be by his side when he takes his last breath or will they ship him off to a stranger and get something newer and faster, will they stick him in a trailer of strange horses where he cant hide in the corner? Hes so sensitive and sweet he needs someone to protect him from that .  I worry about horses.