Yessir, That's My New Baby!

It's only because I have one of the ten great husbands on earth, you know.  I mean, how great of a guy do you have to be to indulge your wife's equine proclivities with such equanimity?  Pretty darn great, in my opinion.

So, to the above left is my new baby.  His registered name is UDidWhaaat (Jockey Club # J28162), but the folks at the ranch call him Wayne.  I call him Big Red; and, boy, is he a hubba-hubba honey, or what?

I rode from the age of nine, until I left for college at eighteen.  It was the biggest part of my life.  The day I sold my last horse was one of the saddest in my life.  I've had horrible nightmares about him for the past eighteen years -- usually involving his sitting neglected in his stall with no one to care for him.  But, I had thought that I was over horses.  Until Sadie began to take lessons at the Pony Tail Ranch in Renton.

As I watched her learning the ins and outs of horsemanship, it all came flooding back to me -- coupled with an incredible yearning.  A few weeks ago, the owner of the ranch introduced me to Big Red.  Yowser!  He's an off the track Thoroughbred who was never raced.  You might think that's a lot of horse for an almost-eight-year-old and her eighteen-year-horse-hiatus mama to handle.  And, you'd be right.  But, it's not like this is uncharted territory.  My last horse, Spirit, was also OTTB.  I have a bond of natural sympathy with this noble breed.

So we're taking it slowly and having a blast.  He's a good boy -- very affectionate and willing.  I have every confidence that we'll get along swimmingly.  I cannot help but think that this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  And I am so blessed to be able to share it with my daughter.