Horses love peppermints.
I’m not fond of peppermints myself, so when I found out that horses eat
them I was surprised. Feed a horse a peppermint and it will chew and drool
until it crunches the mint into horsey oblivion. It is grotesquely delightful.
Some folk are born horse people. As children they pretended their dog was a pony, clicked
at their parents, and screamed “whoa there!” when stopping their
tricycles. Not me. I never put a saddle
on the family dog and I didn’t watch Black Beauty. I didn’t dislike horses, they just weren’t on my
radar. So when I found myself face to
nose with a peppermint snarfing horse last week, I wondered how I got there.
Bartering is an ancient system based on trading goods or services
without the exchange of currency. When such
an opportunity arose at a local stable my children jumped at the opportunity. The catch being, they needed my help to fulfill
their end of the agreement. Because they are vertically
challenged, my girls required assistance wrangling water buckets and refilling
them. This my friend, was my door into
horsey-dom.
My job is simple: take buckets off hooks, scrub buckets,
re hang buckets and fill them with water. It would be an
easy job if horses weren’t involved. Most times, I can get into a stall when its
inhabitant is moved to the pasture. Certain
mornings that proves impossible and I enter stables to fill waters while
Monsieur or Madame Horsey is still in there.
That’s when it gets complicated.
Horses are curious.
Curious and pushy.
Curious, pushy and demanding to be more specific. None more so than a horse named Joey, who was
the first equus callabus to befriend me.
It was a hot fall day in September when I entered Joeys’ stall to change
his water. Our training period had finished the week before and this Sunday the
girls and I were on our own. That means
I was the functional adult in charge. I wasn’t
comfortable haltering and moving the beasts yet, so I decided to leave Joey in
his pen. His buckets were empty and he
was happy to have me take them. He
stepped aside when I entered and stayed out of my way to hurry things along. He knew the drill. Gathering all the water buckets at the barn took
time. After much crouching, scrubbing
and splashing, I had the 30 buckets ready to re hang.
I’m not certain why I filled Joey’s water buckets last
that afternoon. The work load was high, perhaps it was the heat. I
opened Joey’s pen and pushed passed him to the water buckets. “Sorry boy,” I cooed. “Here you go, that took a while didn’t it?” I gave the hose a tug and reached up into the
first bucket, squeezing the nozzle handle.
Joey moved in closer. “Back up
buddy,” I cajoled as he closed in on the water bucket. “Hold on a minute.” Joey could not wait. He came up behind me and stuck his head in
the bucket trapping my arm with his neck.
“Buddy! You’ve got to move.” I
leaned into his chest with my back. “Seriously. You’re squashing me.” But Joey didn’t budge. Joey drank water as fast as I could fill the
bucket. My arm was aching. I threw myself back against his chest to move
him. Joey, thinking we were bonding,
leant into me as I leant into him. I was pinned between a 5 gallon bucket and a 1000 pound horse. It was getting awkward.
Yelling for help proved pointless, my girls were elsewhere and couldn't hear me. What to do next? It was then I remembered I had 3 mints in my pocket. I reached in my pocket for one. Gripping it in my teeth, I got it out of the wrapper. I managed to hold it above my head while waving it at thirsty horse boy. "Joey! Look! Treat boy! Have a mint!" When Joey came up
for air half a bucket later, he lifted his head above mine and rested his
muzzle on my skull. It would have been
an endearing gesture if ice cool water, horse drool and goodness knows what
else didn’t cascade down my neck, straight into my bra. I cannot replicate the sound I made, because
I was too shocked at horse drool being dumped in my shirt. Joey, thrilled at the sight of a sugar treat, showed his appreciation by resting his head on my shoulder as he ingested his prize. Warm streams of horse saliva replaced the cold sensation and slithered down my right shoulder blade. When he finished, he chewed my
hair which contained the correct balance of moisture and filth.
After I filled his 3rd and final bucket, I looked
like I’d been in a water fight. I had
hay in my hair, horse drool in my bra, and manure everywhere else. At that point, I had to question my devotion
to my children. When my oldest was
little, I never dreamed being accosted by a horse would be part of parenting. I was grossed out, more than that, my body ached. I realized I didn't want to spend 3 hours on my day off picking up after horses. Sighing, i confessed my unwillingness.
Lord, I know without a doubt that your orchestrated this opportunity for my children. I thank you, truly I do because you are kind and your mercies are new. I'm ashamed that I'm facing this blessing with whining. Did I mention I'm feeling old? Give me the grace to cooperate with you as you bless my children. I know my time with them is fleeting. Please forgive me for being selfish, help me to be generous with my time. Please give me special horse wrangling abilities and ensure that this grass drool doesn't stain my clothes..... With your help, I will gladly do this out of love for my girls, regardless of how I feel. Help me to serve you first instead of my own desires.
Don’t you find that to be true friend? That love takes us places we never could have
imagined? I have watched friends and family sacrifice
many things for the sake of those they love.
Some of their actions were amazing, others were downright insane. That is why it is so important to love the Lord
above all.
Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deut 6:5
To love
God first means he will direct our paths and keep us safe from our more destructive
desires. In truth, I would prefer napping to blessing my children, God enables me to look beyond my sleep deprived soul.
Loving God isn’t always easy. It can mean getting in the manure of life and
working hard for those who won’t thank you for your efforts. Other times it means sacrifice when those around you appear to walk a road paved with opportunity. More often than not, it means putting your
desires aside as you seek to bless those around you. But don’t be discouraged my friend. You are doing the work of the kingdom. If you find yourself covered in the grime of
service, know you serve a God who can cleanse you, restore you and set you on
your feet, or horse, again.
I’m praying for you,
xoxKaren
No comments:
Post a Comment