No days like the golden photos on the calendar from the gas company, propane topped off at the first frost as autumn surrendered with no fanfare. Early storms left crusted snow frozen in mud, hoof-print ruts that catch the toe of my boot, stumbling out late to throw extra hay and put eyes on … Read more
The rhythm of hooves over even soft ground, we’ve lost time out together, rocked safe in the saddle like breeze through the oaks toward a bottom-heavy sun. Lulled by the sway of his stride, we’ve wandered too far, dirt-worn and words gone. Just as I pause, not sure of the way, his cadence builds … Read more
Black eyes sunk deep in her skull, certain she knows what will come next. The trail of scars on her legs read like an ancient cave painting of where she’s been and what has followed her here, her ribs braced against inescapable shadows, her breath shallow in fear she might become visible. With no … 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
No shy curve, she takes a direct line. The big mare trots up with authority, her ears shouting orders in all directions at once, her body dwarfed by an ageless spirit that has yet to find its limit. If she needed you, she’d never let it show. Settle your doubt and stand with equality, … 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
Stay outside until the sun is low, reluctant to let the day end, tidying halters, raking loose hay into stalls, dragging my feet. Not ready. Just that this sweet ordinary day, this warm season, will soon be carried off in the wind, gone to seed. Loosening my grip from what I know will be … Read more
We became strangers. I thought I knew her so well; that place just back from her ears where her mane flips to the other side. Her slow half-closed eye resting in speckled shade, head low to the flank of a gelding. Her outline in moonlight blue at the night feed, the horse from my … Read more
Long in the tooth, people say. Gray hairs dusting his temple, this gelding plays the part of good uncle, passers-by tickle his nose to show their familiarity, unaware of of the memory that kind of touch brings this stoic gelding who remembers too far back, too sad a time. Past his prime, people say. … Read more
The draft horses galloped out of the barn and down the fence line, stood on their hind legs, pawing the air with teeth bared, then threw their heads down, stretched low to nip at each other’s hooves as the thunder whispered to a boom. Flashing violence, the clouds blew the sky a greenish purple, … Read more