Fate

I realized a few years ago that my life is as I envisioned it when I was 20 years old; my husband, my home, my job, my lifestyle. I am not sure how, but I think I had my dreams and I subconsciously worked towards them. Horses have always been in my life. I read all the horse books when I was a little girl - Black Beauty, the Black Stallion were favourites. I had a bit of a talent for drawing in my younger days and the first animal I worked on perfecting was a horse. As a kid, the 3-day drive to Newfoundland from Ontario every 2nd summer would have me seated on the shoulder side of the car and fantasizing that there was a big, black horse galloping along side us, jumping over any obstacle that may be in his way. I think that taking riding lessons was the first step in reaching a subconscious goal.

Google became my new best friend. I had no idea the power of its search capability! I felt empowered. I researched horses, vet and farrier costs, the definition of“easy keeper”, and the pros and cons of going barefoot. I learned about backyard breeders and conformation faults (thank you Fugly Horse of the Day!! www.fuglyblog.com). Amazingly, I could do all of this work while stretched out on my sofa watching my television shows or having a vodka soda, thanks to the laptop my husband bought me for my birthday. I was letting my fingers do the walking (that was an old Yellow Pages tag line for those too young to remember!).

Out of the blue, a friend I had lost contact with found me on Facebook. STA has been riding for over 20 years and was thrilled that I was taking lessons. I spent the afternoon at her place hanging out in the barn with her three horses, mucking out, talking, grooming, and feeding. She found it amusing that I had no issues with getting dirty. Her passion for horses was mesmerizing. I saw first-hand some of the health issues and special needs of an elderly horse (digestive and breathing in this case). "Do you think I am crazy for considering getting my own horse at this stage in my life?" I asked. "Go for it!" was the reply. I was elated. She explained the good, the bad and the ugly of horse ownership. I appreciated her frankness about being a responsible owner and her enthusiastic support of my mid-life adventure (crisis?).

I believe STA came back into my life for a reason. It was fate. Getting a horse was meant to be. Perhaps I had been sending out signals through the airwaves. All I knew was that I was grateful that I now had someone who was willing to be my sanity check when I was being insane. Let the search begin!

What was I thinking....?