A Horse Is Worth More Than Riches

Chapter One - The Beginning

Clang! Crash! A pristine white horse float drove down my gravel driveway. It bumped at every rut and I could hear frantic neighs coming from the fancy interior. My heart raced. This was it. Clancy and I's first horse. I glanced back at the barn, drawing in the sweet smell of brand new hay and sawdust. The steady 20-stall barn had been erected mere months before, along with two large pasture fences and a sandy corral. It had always been my dream to own a horse, and now we had moved into a small country town, the opportunity had arisen.  Clancy had had a fantastic job offer at a local school, and with his horse training background, we could finally raise our own horses. 

I remember our first visit to the local rescue centre. I had been shocked at the state of the animals being kept there, but I felt glad to know that they were now in good hands. A tall brunette had shown Clancy and I around, talking non-stop the whole time. When we had gotten to the horse section, I was shocked. While most of the horses had open wounds and obvious illnesses, some seemed physically healthy, but stared into the middle distance blankly, or stood dejected and sad in the far corner of their stalls. A miserable bay draft gelding was being groomed in crossties in the aisle, and as we passed him, I felt a connection. The gentle giant lifted his head and pricked his ears towards me. I walked slowly up to his head and touched his heart-shaped muzzled. His eyes softened and his tongue shot out, licking my hand like a dog. I giggled, and stepped back.                                                                                                                                                "How about him?" I gave Clancy a pleading look. " He needs us like we need him,"                               "Are you sure, Halle? What can we give him that this place doesn't have?" Clancy was skeptical.    "We can give him love. They have top facilities, better than ours, but the staff are constantly changing according to roster and he needs a stationary figure to care for him," I was certain he would be a good starter for our small farm.                                                                                                               " Okay, I trust your judgement, and anyway, he has great conformation and real potential as a hack,"  Clancy studied the clydesdale's gentle eyes and lily-shaped ears. He had three white socks and a crooked blaze that trickled down his nose like a flowing stream. In short, he was beautiful.

Even now, a month later, his dark coat and pristine socks still drew my gaze as he was backed down the ramp of the rescue centre's float. This time, however, he was terrified. His scared chocolate eyes rolled, showing the whites and his dinner-plate hooves pounded the metal ramp.  I walked forward, trying to look as calm and relaxed as possible, to show the gelding that there was nothing to be afraid of. I stood next to the handler as she wrestled with the lead rope, her slight body no match for the horse's sleek muscles.                                                                                              "You want me to take him?" I asked, noticing her obvious nerves. Her fear of the gelding was not helping his situation.                                                                                                                                                            "Please," she said gratefully. "Anyway, he seems to respond better to you. He was an absolute baby when you visited the centre last month. Now he's back to being a little troublemaker,"            "Thanks for bringing him over." I replied. "I signed all the paperwork two weeks ago, so he's officially registered under my name now," Mine. I liked that word, especially when was in the same sentence as my new horse.                                                                                                                                   "Yep, all sorted," the young woman said. " Thank you for adopting one of our rescue animals and good luck," She spun on her heel and climbed into the truck. The trailer left with a rattle as it passed the gate, then disappeared.                                                                                                                               "So," Clancy came over. " A horse, huh? Let's get him settled in the barn,"                                                   We led the now placid gelding through the barn doors, then into the first stall. He looked surprised at first, being in a new home, but soon settled down, chewing his timothy as if he had always been there. Now, two years later, I felt the same way.