Love or a Carrot?

You guys are awesome!!!  The donations for the HERO Ride for Life,  American Cancer Society Fundraiser ride that Autumn and I are doing this Saturday (5/7/11) have been overwhelming and generous.  I am going to do a special blog to thank all you super great folks next week!  We are just about at our goal.  If you haven't had a chance to donate it's not to late.  You can still drop off donations at the vet office or the ranch up until Friday.  Everyone who has donated has a special ribbon sewn on Autumn's saddle pad for the ride so we'll all be riding that day together.

Here's a section of Autumn's saddle pad with our supporters proudly displayed.



Autumn Loves Me

Sometimes, I wonder if Autumn loves me or she just wants a treat. When I call out for her, unseen, in the enormous forested pasture and I hear her whinny as she explodes out of the trees galloping right up to me...well, it makes me wonder... is it for the treat I always keep in my pocket or is she just happy to see me?

Waking up late a few mornings ago, I had to do the mad dash to feed both of the barns, leaving me fifteen minutes to find Autumn in the upper pasture.  I prayed she wasn't in the upper arena on the top of the mountain a.k.a the nose bleed section.  I scooted up the bank of the heart shaped pond and spotted her...in the nose bleed section.  With all the huffing and puffing, stopping to catch my breath and cursing out the mountainside it usually takes me fifteen minutes to drag myself up there. I had to make a decision. Either, I could just wave to her and spend the extra time sitting in my car and staring out into space before work or...I could suck it up, charge up that mountain without stopping and whinning and see my horse.  So, that's what I did. Autumn watched me scramble my way up to her and waited patiently until I delivered her carrot while gasping for air.  She took the carrot and...walked away. I was crushed.  That's it?  My lungs were burning, I was soaked in sweat and I didn't even get a nuzzle? 
The rejection dragged me down the mountain and made plunge into the vertical pit of a crappy a day. 
I was pretty busy feeling cheap and used for a carrot when I heard a little shuffle behind me.  I turned around a few feet behind me was Autumn peaking around a tree.  What? Was one carrot not enough?  I waited for her to catch up and nudge her nose toward my pockets.  She didn't budge.  She just stood there trying to hide her enormous head behind a skinny tree trunk.  I told her I loved her and started back down the trail. "Shuffle, shuffle..." I stopped and turned around. There she was about the same distance away from me but, now, without a tree to hide behind, she lowered her head to the ground looking as though she was trying to make herself as small as possible standing as still as a stone. Again, I waited for her to come up to me and give me the carrot frisk but she just stood there. I walked on and the shuffling started behind me.  I sped up and so did the shuffling.  Then I hit the brakes, turned around as fast as I could and caught her as she slid to a stop and froze like a bronze statue of a horse a few feet behind me.  It was so cute. We peek-a-boo'ed all the way down the mountain to the gate. She hid behind scrawny trees and bushes that only came up to her knees. I was pretty convinced that she was pretty convinced that I couldn't see all 1800 pounds of her hiding behind a patch of milk weed that she had her nose tucked into. It was so cute and so fun playing with her that it pulled my crappy day right out of the pit and made it one of my best days in a long time. 
When we arrived at the gate, I was pretty sure she was expecting me to take her back to the barn for some breakfast. I was already feeling guilty about leaving her there,all alone crushing her hopes of having a nice little breakfast of oats and hay in her comfy stall.  I gave her a big hug, told her I loved her a million times and that I had so much fun with her and then...she turned around and walked away.  She stopped about ten feet away turned and looked at me thoughtfully and started back up the mountain again.  Then I knew...she does love me!

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