The Horse with a Ribbon in her Mane

The Horse with a Ribbon in her Mane 2

I searched high and low.

Far and wide.

I looked everywhere but the mot obvious place- the pasture.

When I was sure she was gone for good, I looked out into the pasture and saw four horses grazing on the horizon.

I couldn't help bu think how beautiful Art would look with the- Wait, four horses?

I broke down laughing. I'd driven through town, asked my neighbors, even called the police, and all along she'd be grazing with Apache, Ticker, and Victoria.

I pulled out my cell to call everyone and let them know I'd found her. I made sure not to tell them where, of course.

That night I lay in bed. The crickets chirped, and the owls hooted, and occasionally I heard a far off whinny.

I wondered about that ribbon in her mane.

I wish I knew how it got to be there, and what it's purpose was, or why it was in her mane. It was nice, yes, but it definitely didn't make her looking more appealing.

In fact, if it weren't for me, she would have been sent to Mexico or Canada. I'll never forget the rude glare I got from a man who'd bought about 3 horses, only three because thats all he could get.

Thank goodness he could only get three.

I sat up and walked to the window, and looked out.

There they were, four black silhouttes, my four horses. The little herd.

I saw Art raise her head. She looked up towards my window, and we met each other's eyes.

I smiled. Despite her stupid actions, I knew we'd be good friends soon.

She'd probably appreaciate me more after I groomed her and got her nice and fat again.

The next morning I woke up and got dressed, slipping on some blue jeans and a white t-shirt. My first job this morning was to muck out the stalls, then put the horses in them and feed them.

I strolled out the barn, and immediatly set to work mucking out the three most used stalls, then heading to another stall that I'd never used.

I looked into it. It was clean, but there were no shavings, and the feed and water bucket were dusty. Not to mention spider webs were everywhere.

I sighed and grabbed a broom, starting by sweeping the cobwebs away, then scrubbed both buckets till they were good as new.

Afterwards, I grabbed two halters and went to the pasture, first haltering Apache and Ticker, for they got along best.

I lead the two into the barn, then released them inside their stalls, where they circled impaitently, snorting and waiting for their feed.

Afterwards I grabbed two more halters and got Victoria and Art.

Art wasn't paying attention to me, I noticed. Her eyes wer flicking frm the barn and back to Victoria, who shuffled along behind her, shaking her shaggy pony head.

I yanked lightly on Art's lead, and instantly her attention was directly on me. Her eyes didn't move, she just blinked.

We walked into the barn and I put them in their stalls. After that, I got feed from the tack room and poured it into the buckets, then watched them eat hungrily.

They were halfway done with I heard the gravel crunching. I looked out from the barn and saw a white van. The man driving it met my eyes and began to turn around.

I stared as he pulled away, wondering what he wanted. I shrugged. Probably just the wrong address.

Soon the horses were done, and I let Victoria, Ticker, and Apache out to graze, but left Art cross tied so I could take care of her.

I started by shaving her mane off, but I made sure to take the ribbon off and tie it around the ring of her halter.

I then docked her tail. It would grow out, and I cut her mane and tail off because they were tangled beyond repair.

After that, I trimmed her feet myself.

She seemed to enjoy being cared for. When I brushed her body, she leaned into the brush so hard I feared she would fall.

I felt my heart lurch for her. How could this mare, with such a sweet temperment, end up in this kind of predicament?

But that was ok. She was my horse now, and I was going to do whatever it took to bring her back to what she was before.

A sweet mare with muscle and fat.

I knew she could pull through with it. She was a survivor, I thought, and she'd pull through.

Yes, she was a survivor.. if only I knew at that time I'd need her assistance for my survival.