Penny

I have a short series of writings about my experiences with my first horse, Penny. Here’s the first in the series:

Penny

The drive along Price Canyon Road was dark and foggy at 4:30 in the morning. I headed toward Arroyo Grande but decided instead to take the back way off winding roads lined with stunted California Oak trees, Manzanita bushes, and Anise shrubs. I slowed my ’69 Chevy Impala, “Le Boat” I called her, to a crawl. I had to look closely for the three-reflector marker post for the dirt road shortcut that would take me to the ranch. Today, I was going to meet and learn about the horse I’d just bought from a friend. Today, I was going to meet Penny.

As I drove along the desolate dirt road, I thought about the last time I’d seen my friend, Marcy. How tired and scared she looked; the look on her face still frozen into my memory banks.

About a month ago, I received a phone call at about 3:00 in the morning from Marcie saying that her house had just burned down and that she needed my help. Those shocking words propelled me into motion. It felt like a dream as I grabbed up clothes, blankets, and bottled water, threw my shoes on and ran out the door. I drove as fast as I could over sandy roads through the dunes of Nipomo to find Marcie, her girlfriend, and 4 tethered dogs, sitting on the ground next to their smoldering trailer.

When I got out of my car, Marcie pointed at her truck and told me that I had to get “him” to the vet. I looked in the cab of her truck and saw, Tommy, her Umbrella Cockatoo, lying on the seat. His talons were blistered and oozing blood. His beak had huge blisters over the top of it and I could see him trying to breathe through bubbling fluids. He had a black, sooty handprint on one side of his body and most of his feathers curled unnaturally. He was in really bad shape.

Tommy had been in the room where the fire had started and had actually saved their lives with his noisy screaming. When Marcie’s girlfriend opened the door, fire flashed out and burned her face and arms. She no longer had eyebrows, eyelashes, or a discerning hairline. Her face was red as a fire engine but not severely burned. Tommy, on the other hand, had been in that room for some time before she had run in and grabbed him.

Firefighters were attempting to put out fires that had spread to the surrounding Eucalyptus trees and horse corrals. Carla, their neighbor, was trying to hold and settle their four frightened horses as she walked them to her barn on the other side of the property. Wet, acrid smoke filled my senses and I could feel the spray from the hoses from where I stood. I choked, coughed, and ran over to where Marcie was sitting. Marcie, her face blackened from the smoke except where streaks of tears had fallen, looked up at me. I covered them both with blankets and asked what they wanted me to do.

“Get Tommy to the vet in Los Osos. I’ve called them. They know you are coming. Please.” she said.

I really didn’t want to leave them but I knew how much Tommy meant to her. She held her keys out and as I took them, I gave her a little squeeze on her hand. She looked at me and started crying. As soon as she started to cry, I felt my eyes well up and my stomach tightened.

“Go on… get out of here…” she said.

The drive to Los Osos was going to take at least 45 minutes. I turned off the radio and talked to Tommy as I drove. I knew he was dying and wanted to comfort him. I didn’t dare touch him anymore than I already had because he was in a tremendous amount of pain and shock. I spoke to him softly and reassuringly and cooed in low tones. I could hear his gurgled breathing start to slow. I wasn’t sure if he was relaxing or expiring. I drove as fast as I dared.

I arrived at the vet’s about a half an hour later. They met me at the door and gingerly took him from my arms. I’d wrapped him in a white t-shirt now blotted with blood, mucus, and soot. I saw the look in the vet’s eyes and knew it wasn’t good.

Tommy died about ten minutes later. There was nothing they could have done for him. He’d inhaled so much smoke and heat his lungs were destroyed. The vet put her arm around my shoulder while I cried. I asked about paying for him but she waved the question off. She handed me one of his feathers and squeezed my hand. What a kind woman.

I got back to Marcie’s place just after sun-up. Most of the smoke had cleared and they were sitting in Carla’s barn, drinking coffee, and discussing what to do next. The fire department inspector was poking around the remains of the trailer. When Marcie saw me with the feather in my hand, she began to cry. All of us sat there for at least an hour just… crying.

Later, we packed up as much as we could and I deposited Marcie, her girlfriend, and all of their remaining belongings at her mom’s house. Carla would keep the horses for now until they got things settled. I wouldn’t talk to them again for another week, as they were busy trying to settle the insurance and finding a new place to live.

Marcie called me in the following days and told me that they had found a place to live but wouldn’t be able to keep their horses there. She had a place where she could keep two of them and would have to sell the other two. She had a roan cattle horse named Cassie that was in the middle of “cow” training. Her other horse, Shadrack, was her baby and, of course, he would be staying with her. She also had a yearling but she knew she didn’t have the time for him. She had sold him to Carla and felt really good about his new home. Then there was the “old” brood mare, Penny that she’d just bought two months ago.

This old gal had been for sale at auction and was going to be sold for slaughter. She was being billed as barren, foundered, and just plain old. Marcie read her papers and saw that she was out of the Poco Bueno cutting horse line. She knew there was more to this old gal than met the eye and decided to buy her and take her home for as a companion to Cassie. Cassie, who was as mean as a junkyard dog, didn’t like any other animals; especially dogs. The only thing to hold her attention was… cows. She was a workhorse, through and through.

Marcie told me she was worried about Penny because she was 17, barren, appeared to be foundered, and, although she was very sweet, she didn’t think she could be ridden. I had a little knowledge about horses and knew that she would be, if anything, just a pet. I asked Marcie what she thought would happen to Penny and she said she didn’t know.

“Maybe she could be a little kid’s horse, I don’t know; I just don’t want her to end up being slaughtered.” she said.

“How much do you want for her?” I asked.

“You know, I’d sell her for a hundred bucks if I thought she was going to a good home.,” she answered.

“Sold.” I said.

We talked for a little more and decided I would come out on Sunday to meet her. Marcie told me that I’d have to board her and, if I was interested, I could talk to the people that she was renting property from and see if they had any open stalls to rent. Before we hung up, Marcie told me how much she appreciated my help and started to talk about Tommy but broke up into tears. I felt so bad but just didn’t know what to say.

“Well, I sure hope things work out with Penny. It would be great to know that she got a good home.” she said, ending our conversation.

I pulled into the dirt driveway and drove up the little hill toward the barn. There were 18 stalls, a covered workshop, a barn, and 2 houses up that hill. I was unsure which way to go to get to Marcie’s house. I pulled up to the water trough, parked, and turned off the headlights.

I got out of the car, stretched, and took in a deep breath. It smelled of horse and hay. Oh, how I love that smell. I smiled and looked up the road to see a light go on at the small house. I started to turn and walk up the rest of the road. As I turned, I noticed one of the horses had stuck its head out over the top of the stall.

I stopped and gazed into the soft brown eyes that were looking at my hands excitedly to see if I carried any food. I walked over and touched her velvety-soft nuzzle. She nibbled into my palm gently.

“Hello, Penny.” I said.

She nickered and blew warm breath on the palm of my hand. I reached up and rubbed her eyes. She really liked that and moved her head on my hand as if telling me where she itched and commanding me to rub. Marcie once told me that horses use their sense of smell to get to know you. She told me that she always introduced herself by gently blowing up into a horse’s nostrils. I thought I would try this with Penny. It scared me to get my face so close to those big teeth but I was determined to try this getting-to-know-you method.

I bent down slightly and gently blew a breath into Penny’s nose. I could feel her nostrils twitch as she inhaled and then suddenly forcefully blew her nose on me. She extended her lips as if she was going to grasp my cheek into her mouth. Instead, her lips fluttered across my face in a little horsey-kiss motion.

“Awe. Aren’t you just a sweetie?” I said.

To be continued…