All the pretty horses.........gone!

They were beautiful horses that lived here. And it has been pointed out to me that they were somewhat cultured, as they listened to the National Public Radio station that played constantly in the barn. I believe the proper term for NPR listeners is "elitist", which around here means anyone who doesn't listen to country music.

And is is true that those horses have been exposed to classical music for several hours a day and it only stands to reason that it somehow affected their manner and appreciation for art and culture. I wonder if the new owner of the horses has noticed that.

At any rate they are gone. We are horseless. That condition has not existed for the eighteen years we have lived here on a bluff above the Gasconade River. It will take a little getting used to. We have our reasons for going horseless, but sometimes they don't seem quite good enough.

If you have been around horses you can guess the things we will miss most. What about the smell? (OK, odor for you elitists.) I have loved the smell of horses since I was a child. That odor will gradually diminish now. And we will miss the sight of them in the pasture. Often their mutual exuberance had them running with the wind or kicking and twisting with the joy of movement.

We grow older and priorities change. Seeing that the horses were cared for became a problem for the times we were away and traveling. And, there are other reasons: Aches and pains (some of which were given to me by horses) have kept us from using the horses as much as we should. They need more attention than we were giving them.

But they were beautiful. And we had a good run with equines here for many years. Delivering new colts was always a favorite thing. Then watching them develop.

Our last two horses have gone to live with a couple who operate a riding school and boarding stable near Cole Camp, Missouri. We hope to go visit them sometime. Mister Big, our Percheron cross will be groomed to carry the heftier students of the riding school and perhaps will also get some harness time. And, truth is, even as beautiful as he is, Woodrow will have to find his own niche at his new home. He was part of the deal. "You take both of them or none," we said.

Well, here's to a good rest of your life guys. We will miss you.

Your Pals, The Hired Man and Missus.

Mister Big and Me (Our pre-spring ride)

We heard spring scratchin around the hills yesterday and decided to take a ride. This was the first time all winter that old "Mister Big" has been under saddle. We had a good ride over local countryside but it was obvious that "big" had done a little back sliding since we did this last fall.

I am including a couple of photos from the ride. (It is a little difficult to photograph while the horse is moving)

One photo shows a neighbor farm (he is gone for the winter) It is an interesting old place because it was one of the first farms in this county (Maries County). The original owner had slaves back in the early 1800's. The original part of this barn (which you can't see) was built by slaves. It is made of massive logs that are pegged together. Many of the slaves are buried in unmarked graves up on the hill from the house.

We rode on. Saw deer and other wildlife and saw no one one a bout a 5 mile ride. One little fellow was this possum that seemed to think he was watching a parade and just looked at us wide-eyed.

Yesterday we heard spring stomping on the other side of the hill, wanting to get underway. It will happen soon. Then, she will sweep down the hill toward us, "babbling and strewing flowers."