An elder red mare and her rider babysat us as we climbed in and out of ravines, my young horse giddy on the trail, not running but not walking either. Crossing a small pond in leaps, had he ever seen so much unfenced land? His body froze to the shallowest breath, watching a herd of … Read more
Leota would send a note warning that she’d put something in the mail and we waited. She was a distant relative who never visited, but she had girls older than us. Soon a big cardboard box arrived filled with pleated wool skirts and pastel sweaters; good school clothes, all store-bought. Leota’s girls must have … Read more
There were always horses, some light and some dark. The woman met them in passing or they stayed forever; some were proud and some stayed hidden deep within. After the gelding stumbled and fell, trapping the woman’s leg, breaking her loose from her fairytale romance, the woman and the horse were set on equal footing. … Read more
You were there the day he was born, all ears and knees. You knew him when his hooves were still soft and his eyes first saw light, but the forever deal was struck long before then. You knew what the colt did not, that it was you who was born for him. The exquisite … Read more
Leaning on the gate. Checking water tanks at dusk, one last glance at the herd before heading in. Feeling his warmth near, even from the far side of the pen, his muzzle deep in hay. Awestruck, my involuntary response to his beauty. Under my breath, I barely murmur the tall gray’s name aloud but … Read more
Both horsewomen would remember this moment. A blustering wind, not cold, but bitter. Misty clouds settled the dust. A gelding stood between them, aged beyond the math of his years. Not quite thin but not strong either. Looming with stilted tension as if uncomfortable in ill-fitting clothes. Was it his arthritis? The chronic hoof … Read more
To feel the red soil, fine dust to pea gravel, with each toe through the sole of my shoe. To feel held by the earth, rooted and dear. Soften one knee with deliberate balance, shift weight gradually to the other foot and then sway back, to feel the hip roll follow the first to … Read more
She was for sale: a black bay Arabian mare and I was looking for a beginner lesson horse. Tacked up when I arrived, I led her to the mounting block, held the reins a bit too tight, poked her with my toe as I stepped into the stirrup and then dragged my leg over … Read more
Across the long diagonal to the west corner of the dry lot, he’s on the far side of the herd, barely moving as he shifts weight from one hoof to the other, his neck stretched long, muzzle to the sandy ground. He pretends to eat what’s not there, so he can watch me softly. He … Read more
Let him.
Horse Prayers available August 24th. Not kidding.
