January 3, 2010 Dreams Are Better Than Resolutions

What is my dream for 2010?

MOOSE MY NEW HORSE 2008

     Dream sounds better than a New Years resolution.  Dreams are not always possible just like some of my resolutions I make every New Years.  Resolutions are more like commandments that can't be broke.  So I have kept to dreams.
     A dream is like the word YET; it leaves room for something to still happen.  Like I haven't ridden my horse yet.  Maybe this year.
     Moose is the gentlest loving horse I have ever known.  He was my grand daughter's lesson horse and when he came up for sale I purchased him because I had watched him for two years be the perfect horse.  And yet when he came that week I spent lots of time brushing him, taking pictures and just gazing at his willingness to be my new horse.  Then I got the new saddle out that I purchased for him because he is 16 hands and a big, big horse.  My other saddles did not fit.  He waited patiently as I fumbled around getting the hackamore that came with him over his beloved face, then the blanket and saddle.  There; not a thing more that could delay my first ride with my special new partner......except I am scared of falling on my 67 year old body.  I pulled myself on to this beloved quiet horse, started him out in a walk but was shaking inside with fear.  "what if's ...hammered my mind"  The ground was a lot further away than when I use to ride on my small Arabian Rifa.  Moose's ride was short.

                                REFA IS NOW RETIRED BECAUSE SHE IS 32 YEARS OLD

Backtracking a little:

Refa was my first big horse.  I had a trainer come to our stable and teach me how to ride.  I rode her often when I first bought her.  Refa was always full of get up and go and so was I at 55 years.

Backtracking a little more....

     Another big dream.......I spent endless hours from childhood until age 51, dreaming about getting a horse.  When I was 50 we bought the 27 acres, built our dram home, and planted my dream gardens that filled up to near 3 of the acres with perennials, trees, and bushes.  Dick's pole shed he put up, housed a 55 antique chev car, and we were quite thrilled with life.  Except for one thing.  That horse dream, that entered my mind so often of four legged creatures racing across my fields, standing in Dick's pole shed instead of a car, turning it into stable, was YET to happen.

    Then when I turned 51 years, I bought my first horse, Nuggetts; she was really a Shetland pony.

NUGGETTS WAITING TO BE PICKED UP FROM WHERE WE BOUGHT HER  We pulled into the drive that led us to the pole shed.  It was raining and there she stood all by her self tied to the shed.  The man who sold her to us was not home.  His wife yelled out the window to just take her because she was paid for when we had looked at her the day before.  She was standing in tall grass the day before and her full long mane gently was blowing was blowing in the breeze.  I fell in love with her the moment my eyes gazed upon her.  Nuggets was very old but I did not notice.  The man said she can go for $50.00 and we brought her home the next day! 

     I knew absolutely nothing about horses so did not walk her to see if she was fit, check her feet to see if they were ok, and all the other things a good horse woman would do before buying a horse.  I had the vet come the next day because Nuggets could hardly walk.  He asked me how old she was and I said 6 is what the man had said.  The vet just looked at me as though I should take her back where she came from...and said, "More like 36 years!"  Her little hooves were so long they curved upwards and the vet told me to get that taken care of immediately.  I never knew horses had to have their hooves trimmed and had no idea who to call.  After talking to a cousin who had horses, I had a list of numbers to call and I finely got a farrier to come and trim her.  We made lots of appointments because it could not be done all at once. 

     My beautiful little dream was in very bad shape.  The big bargain ended up costing thousands.  But I held tight to my dream and was in seventh heaven owning this beautiful little creature.  In a year she could at least walk comfortably and was able to live another ten years with us. 

     Since than we have added Refa my Arabian, Ginger, a Shetland Pony for the small grand kids and Hawk a Morgan for our older grand daughter and Moose a Palomino Quarter Horse for me.  In the past 17 years we have added a lot of Wisdom by learning things the hard way, not just through books, classes, and people but life's biggest teacher experience through developing dreams.

Now lets fast forward , back to the now, instead of years ago.....

     My new dream for year 2010.  Use the horses that I have and let fear fall by the wayside as I trot happily off to a new fresh start with Moose.  Sounds like a resolution doesn't it?  Anybody out there know how to accomplish this new dream?

   I hope all your dreams - resolutions for the year ahead come true!  hold onto that very dream, let it grow into reality, be gentle with yourselves.  God isn't done with you YET!

ACT AS IF YOU ARE AND YOU SHALL BECOME

Kate