Bailey - a dream horse

Bailey is the dark brown horse lying down. Rosa (Chupy) is the one standing guard over him.

Last night, at El Rancho Wenlock, we had a little bit of a scare.

Nancy went out to feed the horses at around 6 pm - it had just turned dark. She was a fair while out there but that is usually because she is feeding Bailey and Chupy treats and generally fussing over them. This time when she came back in she told me that she had had a 'bit of a scare'.

Apparently when Nancy got out to the pasture Chupy had come down to the gate but there had been no sign of Bailey. If there is one horse in the world who likes treats, food and attention it is our Bailey. Nancy went past Chupy and up by the shelter and Bailey was down. She called out to him and walked up to him - no response. "I thought he was dead!" Nancy said to me.

All of sudden Bailey woke up and then, of course, he was all about treats..

But it was a small disturbance in "the Force". Bailey is a very old horse and one day he is going to move on to that pasture in the sky where the water is clear, cold and fresh, the grass is tasty and there are bins of wonderful feed all over. But it will be a tough time for us.

Bailey is not the sort of horse you go out looking to buy. (Unless you are Nancy of course). He was old, he was worn out and he was not sound. Nancy should have been paid money by the owner to take the horse but Sean seemed to like him and Bailey would stand still while Sean hugged him. That was good enough for Nancy. She handed over the dough and we had acquired our first horse.

So what possible use is a broken down old ranch horse who is not sound? The cost! The food!

But watching Nancy work with Bailey, just learning to feed him, just taking care of him, delighting in his antics, spoiling him with treats was to watch someone fall head over heels back in love with an activity they had done as a child. Bailey awoke the sleeping dream in Nancy and brought it out into the light of day again. We, all three of us, have been carried along with it. Even me.

That horse may not be able to carry a rider, he sure as hell can carry a dream.


Mick