Have you ever met a kid who has no interest whatsoever in horses? Me, neither.
Horses are fascinating creatures. They’re beautiful, and majestic, and friendly. They’re graceful and playful and a touch silly. I was blessed to have access to them as a child (my grandfather, a farmer, was as keen on horses as any 8 year-old girl could hope) but my kids… not so much. Aside from a short window when Mary Hannah took riding lessons in elementary school, we’ve been bereft of equine friends, much to the chagrin of nearly every member of the family.
Birdie is currently in the throes of horse obsession— a painful condition for a little girl who lives on enough property to support a horse of her own, but is told repeatedly that no, we’re not able to afford keeping one. So rather than experiencing the joy of riding her own mare, she’s wrapped up in all the typical pursuits of a girl who can’t shake the feeling that she ought to be horseback: drawing horses, reading books about horses, prancing her two wooden horse figures from one side of her bed to the other for half an hour, imagining that it’s a wide open field. But then, like a dream, God sent an answer to the prayer of one horse-loving little girl (and her equally horse happy brothers):
Horses. Horses next door!
No, they’re not ours. Actually, they’re being boarded by our nearest neighbors, so they’re essentially third hand horses to us. But who cares? The owners are a sweet family who kindly spotted an audience of longing children one day as they were checking in on their four-legged friends and called their admirers over to the fence. Up until then, we’d had a strict no-contact policy in place. But the owners graciously extended an open invitation to pet, pat, race, and feed their horses whenever we’d like.
And we like. We like a lot.
Nearly every morning now, there is a race to finish Before Breakfast Chores so as to have the chance to throw on clothes, grab a jacket, and grab boots on the way to the field. I admit to not disliking the new arrangement one little bit. Not only do I now have the added benefit of no more dragging feet meandering to the breakfast table each morning, I also have an even better view from my living room windows.
Horses. Who can complain about that?