The morning hummed with an energy that altered the normal cadence of post-breakfast turnouts. The concentration of red clad team members in the cross ties; currying, brushing, polishing…and “green-spotting” trumped even our annual calendar photo shoot. The celebratory vibe was one of a favorite holiday, new birth, and long awaited announcement all rolled into one. The catch of excitement…the slight quiver of emotion were intertwined in a curious blend of both raw emotion and joy that kept words to a minimum and activity nearly electric. The horses sensed it too, but not in a way that concerned or alarmed…rather seemed to whisper a promise yet to come.
Before the trailer entered our gates, the horses were ready. Suffice it to say that our quarterly budget of equine beauty products including Cowboy Magic, Hoof Flex, and shampoo had been wiped out. With more tenderness than bubble wrapping precious family heirlooms, we carefully wrapped each of our horses’ legs in order to protect them on their short trailer ride home. They loaded almost too easily and I experienced a whisper of disappointment, not having had my normal private moment of saying goodbye. Instead, I allowed my fingertips to lightly touch a cheek, brush a neck, and gently graze the curve of a muzzle. Of course, I would see them on the other end, but
this was really where goodbye began and ended. Today we kept a promise…three, actually.
For every story, there is a beginning, middle, and an end. In most every case, the beginning is filled with fear, unspeakable abuse, starvation and betrayal. It is the middle of the story that defines the end, and it is the middle in which we do our work, fall in love, and prepare to let go. It is there that irony marks the corners and seeps into the poignant moments; that our once desperate and nearly destroyed horses awaited yet more horror than we can fathom. A number crudely hot glued to their hide in a crowded yard of terror, breathing in only anxiety, and fighting for a scrap of life that would be sadistically extinguished in the most unthinkable way.
The metaphoric rainbow led through a gate…into a land more magical than Oz, because this land is real and prepared just for them…this is home. The pristine water buckets, new highly polished stall nameplates, and every item on our recommended shopping list ordered, inventoried, and waiting. Also waiting was lunch…a flake of fresh hay with a snack of carefully chopped carrots for Brodie and Mozart…and celery for Maverick T.
The horses were a bit too interested in their marvelous new home to stop and eat…other than to gobble up the goodies that topped their hay. They walked in and out of their deeply bedded stalls, perusing their attached paddocks and dropping to roll occasionally. Their new family had waited and prepared a very long time for this precious moment marking a new beginning. Their road to forever had also been marked with falling in love, preparation, and conscious life-changing choices. Today we kept our promise…three, actually. Today the horses went home.