As Much as a Car Payment

The day I met Penny was the day I found out how much it costs to own a horse. First, I gave Marcie the hundred dollars she said she wanted although now, she told me she didn’t want to take any money from me, but I insisted. She told me it’s like paying a dollar for a car that is supposedly worth a thousand but know you’ll have to put two thousand into it just to get it running. I thought she was kidding and her analogy of “thousand” didn’t hit home until the next week.

Second, I met with Stephen and Jackie, the people Marcie was renting her house from, and we negotiated the price of renting a stall and twice-daily feedings. This made sense to me because I was working and didn’t know if I could drive out just to feed her, twice a day, at morning and in the evening. Thank goodness, “Le Boat” was paid off because it felt like I was taking on another car payment.

Stephen was a farrier by trade. We met at the barn the following Saturday and talked about Penny’s feet and getting shoes on her. He showed me how to clean her hooves and we discussed what to do for the health of her legs as Marcie had been told she was foundered, or lame, and couldn’t bear weight. He told me he couldn’t see any evidence of her being lame but that her hooves were long and needed to be clipped. He recommended having her front hooves shod if I was going to ride her.

If I was going to ride her?

“Do you think I can actually ride her?” I asked.

“I don’t see why not. She seems healthy to me. She doesn’t stumble, she walks with a smooth gait, and she runs really well. Talk to the vet. He’ll let you know for sure but I see this all the time. People don’t realize how important it is to keep a horse’s feet in good health,” he said.

I looked at him suspiciously and wondered if he was drumming up future business for himself. He was so matter-of-fact that I realized that he was just stating the facts, as he knew them. I watched as he artfully cut and clipped her nails while haphazardly tossing the pieces under the dressing deck. One piece hit the ground near my dog, Annie, and she jumped up, grabbed it, and started chewing on it.

“Annie, NO!” I yelled. She immediately dropped the clipping and sat down obediently.

“Naw, she’s okay,” he said. “Dogs love that stuff. It’s just like chewing on a bone or like when you chew on your nails. It won’t hurt her.”

I looked at Annie and noticed that her white coat was covered in dirt and that the top of her back was smudged green. She’d been rolling in fresh horse dung and was filthy! She had a doggy-smile on her face that made me laugh, as I knew she loved this place and process as much as I did. She sat panting and alternately looking at me and then at the piece of hoof sitting on the ground in front of her.

“Oh, go ahead. You can have it.” I said.

She lowered her head down toward the clipping, stopped, and then looked at me again.

“Go ahead. Okay.” I said positively.

She grabbed up the clipping, ran under the dressing deck, and began happily chewing her stinky prize. I laughed and looked over at Stephen who was shaking his head.

“Just keep her out of Cassie’s stall. That horse’ll stomp her and kill her if she gets the chance,” he said.

I looked over at Cassie, slit my eyes, and decided I didn’t like her. I saw her lazily swish her tail at the flies on her rump then quickly turn around and kick up her back legs. She turned her head violently and bit herself hard on her butt. She flinched from the menacing punishment she was inflicting upon herself. In that moment, I thought she looked crazy. She seemed unpredictable and there was no way I was going to go near her, much less let Annie near her stall. I’d been duly warned.

Later that afternoon, I met with the veterinarian. He informed me that Penny needed to be wormed, needed shots, and needed to have her teeth “floated.” Floated? What the heck was that? I’d never heard of it. She had a whole lot of needin’ goin’ on.

Evidently, when horses chew, they wear down their teeth but the wear isn’t flat, it’s curved and ragged. Over the course of time, they will need to have their teeth filed flat so they can properly chew. It also takes down the sharp edges that can cut their tongue and gums causing infections. Usually, horses over the age of 15 need to have their teeth looked at every year. Penny had never had her teeth floated and it was quite a job for this vet to file them down.

He used a “twitch” to keep her still. I marveled how a little pinch on the nose could calm her although it bothered me to see her soft little nose bound in this metal torture device. He told me that it is kind of like acupuncture and that it produces a soporific effect. She did seem awfully calm so I tried to not worry.

By the time the vet had wormed, shot, twitched, and floated her, I was down another four hundred dollars. I was starting to get annoyed at how much this was costing me. I looked over at Penny and saw that she appeared to be just as annoyed at having gone through all of the poking and prodding. She stood with her head high and stiff and was stomping her front hooves and snorting. She hadn’t had this much attention in a very long time. Despite her sweet disposition, she was now very over having to stand still without receiving something pleasurable like a good rub or a nice piece of apple.

I smiled, thanked the vet who proclaimed her, “… healthy as a horse.” and then chuckled to himself. He told me to exercise her for a month and then I could start riding her. I looked at her and began to dream about being able to ride her.

I walked over, un-tethered her, and held her lead firmly with both hands. She was glad to be leaving the dressing area and picked up her steps to a fast walk causing me to have to run next to her. I realized she was pulling me and I forced her back. I had no idea what kind of training she’d had but I wasn’t going to let her lead me. I was in charge now. I regained control, led her over to the corral, and let her loose.

As soon as I let go of the lead, she kicked up her feet and ran off, almost hitting me in the head with her freshly clipped back hooves. I closed the gate, watched her run around the corral, and then stop to pull up a hunk of grass that was poking through fencing. She turned and looked at me while she chewed. I imagined that she was thinking the same thing that I was: “What have I gotten myself into?”

Over the next several weeks, I improved her food with extra grain and alfalfa and watched as her coat became shiny, her energy stronger, and her formerly swayed back fill in with muscle. I worked her on a lunge line daily and kept her pace at a brisk walk. She did very well and, although there were times when we had little arguments about the amount of work she would be doing, she responded well. She was starting to tune-up physically and mentally; she began to look forward to our daily workouts.

We established a daily ritual of brushing out her coat and cleaning her feet. I would rub her down after each workout and she really enjoyed the attention. She even began to show a curiosity toward Annie. My dog went everywhere with me. I even took her to work sometimes. Annie loved going out to the ranch and hanging out with Penny and me. Penny would sniff and snort at her as if she was annoyed but I could tell that she liked her.

One day, while I was getting the grooming supplies ready, I turned and saw Annie and Penny, nose to nose. Penny was sniffing her and Annie licked her. Penny lifted her head up quickly and danced around on her feet. Annie scooted back instinctively. It was such a sweet thing that I couldn’t help but say something.

“Awe, look at you two. I knew you guys would be friends.” I said.

They both looked at me. Penny snorted and looked away as if she didn’t care at all. Annie, ever the pleaser, came over to me, pushed my hand with her nose, and insisted that I pet her. I gave her a rub down with the rubber currycomb. Penny watched as I pet Annie and nickered at me. She wanted her rub! I walked over and began gently rubbing her neck with the currycomb. She put her head down and gently pushed into me and rested her head on my chest. I gently put my hand on her nose and caressed her.

This was a defining moment in our relationship. Despite all of our trials and tribulations, and there would be many more to come, we had become friends. I was at the ranch twice a day and every time I drove up the hill, I could hear her calling to me. She greeted me by putting her head over the stall and excitedly nickering and snorting while stomping her feet to get out of her stall. Annie would jump out of the window of the car, something she was never supposed to do, and run over and greet her in their special nose to nose snort and then was merrily on her way to find something to chew or roll in. It became a constant battle to keep Annie clean. Her formerly white and gray spotted back was now permanently colored with a light green hue.

Today’s routine was no different except, today, I decided, would be the day that I could finally risk riding Penny. Marcie would meet me at the barn and we were going to ride in the corral just to warm up and then take a little walk out on the trails. I was very excited and a little scared, too.

Yesterday, I stopped at the tack shop and bought a bareback pad, hackamore, and a beautiful new leather headstall. God, how I love the smell of leather. I spent three hours in the tack shop just talking about saddles, and leads, and other horse gear. I also bought myself a new pair of Wranglers, a hat, and a pair of gloves. I stopped at Western Warehouse and bought myself a pair of “rough-out” riding boots. They fit me perfectly and I felt like I could do anything in them. In fact, I stopped at the park, played a little hoop with the neighborhood kids, and found that I could move just fine in them.

I was ready. I just hoped that Penny was ready and was afraid that I might hurt her by trying to ride her. Marcie and Stephen both reassured me, which helped my confidence. I had practiced riding on Marcie’s horse, Shadrack, but had been riding in a saddle. It is a very different thing to ride bareback and requires muscles rarely used in the every day.

“Today is the day.” I told myself.

More to come…