The Howie Chronicles

Those schoolgirl days, of telling tales and biting nails are gone,
But in my mind,
I know they will still live on and on,
But how do you thank someone, who has taken you from crayons to perfume?
It isn't easy, but I'll try,

If you wanted the sky I would write across the sky in letters,
That would soar a thousand feet high,
To Sir, with Love

The time has come,
For closing books and long last looks must end,
And as I leave,
I know that I am leaving my best friend,
A friend who taught me right from wrong,
And weak from strong,
That's a lot to learn,
What, what can I give you in return?

If you wanted the moon I would try to make a start,
But I, would rather you let me give my heart,
To Sir, with Love

Bittersweet is such a strange emotion isn't it? How can something sad on one level bring such joy on another? My former lesson horse, Chance, has been sold. Before Howie was ready to ride in lessons I rode this wonderful creature that did more to restore my joy in riding than I would have ever thought possible. I had owned some really nice horses, horses that were athletic and won when they went in the ring, but, and this is a big but, they stole my desire to go to the barn. Chance had a very large role in restoring my sheer joy in just being around my horse again. I will always be grateful to him for that. Chance is one of those great horses that are as honest as the day is long. They know their job is to school you and they challenge you just enough to keep you learning. Chance will tell you what he needs. I remember clearly one lesson on lead changes where I swear I heard him say, "just step in your outside stirrup, please!" And that was exactly what he wanted and needed! Amazing! So now his job is to teach another person all the joys and heartaches of owning a horse. I will watch over them like a mother hen and enjoy watching Chance cast his spell once again.

Poor Howie, he has so much going on. As the farrier said, "It tough being a teenager!" He is still recovering from his spill on the blacktop, he was growing foot so fast he needed reset a week early, he corked himself and just barely missed taking a good chunk out of his coronary band, and, as if that weren't enough, he is losing his third bottom incisors. This got me thinking, what would Howie want the Tooth Fairy to bring him if he put his teeth under the pillow? My first guess would be a very large bag of carrots, but the more I think about it perhaps one of those universal translators they had in the Star Trek series so he could be even more specific in what he tells me! Maybe it's rather telling when you can't think of anything your horse needs--no--he's not spoiled, he just well taken care of, yea right. Of course there is always the nice new bridle or halter, or comfy new blanket, but those are just things. He lives in a barn that is a palace, he gets turned out overnight with friends, his coat glistens with the sheen that only comes from good nutrition, he has an army of people that watch over him, and he has me, his biggest fan. What more could a horse ask for?

Howie suffers through his flatwork because he knows that jumping is coming. He can be a bit of a pain, won't stand still etc, but once you start jumping, look out, Howie the professional is here. He lines himself up on the rail to take his turn in the jump order and would happily stand for an hour to take a trip down a line. He just loves to jump. How lucky could I get? So in our last lesson I opt to do just a little more. I could have been done but I thought he could do a little more so I said yes. So we jump a little X across the ring and then a bending 3 strides to a 2 stride line. The first time we missed the center of the jump entirely! Across the middle of the indoor is a quick turn. The second time was good, trotted after the first jump into the line, ok. The third time, all the stars aligned. We trotted perfectly to the first X, landed in a nice canter and I thought, what the heck-just keep going, what's the worst that can happen? He'll trot? He didn't trot. We got a really nice bending line into the first jump of the line and I was smiling before we finished jumping the second jump! I had no trouble saying, "I'm real happy quitting on that", and so was my instructor. I was glad I believed Howie had just a little more in him that night.