Two Horses

The sun was just coming up as he pushed open the barn door. The smell of hay and horses hit him as he walked in. A smell that he never grew tired of. He walked over to the stalls grabbing the wheelbarrow along the way. As he walked by the stalls he called out to each horse as he walked by. Stopping at the end he loaded the wheelbarrow with hay and began making his way back.
Coming to the first stall he stopped and metered out the right amount of hay and put it in the hay manger. He could hardly get out of the way before the horse had his mouth full chewing away. He made his way to the next and repeated the same thing until all the horses had their hay. Then he loaded up the grain and gave each one their portion for the morning. After they were watered he made his way to the pony�s stall.
He entered the pony�s stall and began talking to her. Running his hand over neck and petting her back. Talking softly to her as moved about the stall. When he first started working there the pony was very skittish and jumpy. But he had taken his time with her and spent a great of time just standing in the stall talking to her and treating her gently. After his visit with her he went about finishing his work. Each stall was cleaned and then fresh shavings were put down.
On afternoon as he was taking the pony out of her stall to clean the owner came walking up. �I can�t believe what I just saw�, She said. Puzzled, he asked, �What do you mean�. �When we first brought the pony to the farm it was very skittish and shied away from men�, she replied. �Why was that �, he asked. �When we got the pony it had been abused. The former owner was a man he was the one that had abused the pony. When ever a man gets near her she gets shaky and nervous and shies away from them�. She replied. He told her that the pony was like that when he first started. He then explained all that he had done with the pony to gain her confidence and trust. �I am very impressed �, she replied.
A couple of months went by and a new horse arrived at the stables. He came into work just as the horse was being unloaded from the trailer. The horse was a thoroughbred and was very spirited. The owners had all they could do to hold on to him as he reared up and jumped around. They soon calmed the horse down and moved him to his stall.
The first day that he opened the stall to feed the new horse it began to whine and jump around. He kept one eye on the horse as he put his hay in the manger. This horse was really hot-blooded. After he had finished all of his work he made his way back to the new horse�s stall. He stepped in and slowly closed the door behind him. He just stood there talking in a soft gentle voice to the horse. The horse was jumpy and constantly moving about the stall. A few minutes passed and he decided that it was enough for one day and left the stall.
The next day he needed to clean the stall. As he reached for the halter to lead the horse out of the stall the horse pulled his head away and backed away. After several unsuccessful tries he left the stall and went on to the next one. When all the other stalls were cleaned he went back to the thoroughbred�s stall.
He slowly opened the door and stepped into stall. Closing the door behind him. He softly spoke to the horse. Holding out his hand so that the horse could smell it. The horse leaned forward and sniffed his hand the let out a big snort. He slowly pulled his hand back and continued speaking softly to the horse. He then slowly took a step towards the horse while continuing to speak to him. Then all hell broke loose.
The thoroughbred reared up. Lashing out with his front hooves just missing his head. The horse began to circle the stall continuing to rear and kick out with its hooves. He dodged each kick, looking for a way out. The horse had come between him and the door of the stall. He looked up and judged the distance to the top of the stall. It was worth a try he thought. Jumping as high as he could he was able to grab the top of the stall. He then pulled himself up and over just as the horse reared one more time and lashed out with his front hooves. He landed in the next stall and just sat there catching his breath as he pondered what had just happened.

As in life there are those who will respond to kindness and accept your friendship. Then there are those who like the thoroughbred never respond to kindness. They lash out at others and never seem to have any friends or relationships.

Reviews

[emmajoy]

This is wonderful!... you touch the natural world and it touches you in return!. You truly love it, don't you. So appreciate the way the story moves, showing how the man can handle horses with a touch of his own magic and understanding... that first paragraph really puts the reader into the tale, could almost smell the stable myself, Tim... a sad finish but...

Truly happy you're bringing your love of Nature to WC.org. More, more, more!

Thank you, thank you for sharing.

[Samuel Dickens]

That's a good analogy, Tim. How right you are. Some people just like being nasty and difficult, it seems. A good story! Sam