Seriously guys, it was so amazing! However it did have a certain drawback. Remember how I said that it is 2 hours from anywhere? Well that includes from the place that I worked. Try as I might, I just could NOT land a job closer to "home." I drove 2 hours, each way for 13 months. As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure I mentioned that here...
Anyhoozles.
While I lived there, my closest neighbor was an elderly man named Gene. He was quite the character. As a matter of fact, when fall was coming on, I noticed that my mom was coming over during the day and taking blankets off of the horses. Sweet. But, one day when I remembered to thank her, she said "Oh! That wasn't me! I thought you were doing that."
Huh.
So, after I had gone to work one day, mom decided to ask the old man next door who always seemed to be sitting on his porch. She figured he would see what was happening, and fill her in.
"Yap. I took them blankets off. I was walkin' by and they asked me to." He said matter of factly.
"Well, next time they ask, tell them no because they don't have long enough hair yet," my mom deadpanned back to him.
This guy was an honest to goodness horse lover, and I am positive my horses did ask him for something. It was probably treats, but they happily stand to have their blankets pulled off so that they can feel the wind on their butts.
Gene had a horse too. An extra large, stunning AQHA bay mare. He called her Pretty Girl, and when Gene wasn't on his porch, he was out with Pretty Girl, petting her and talking to her about how beautiful she was and how much he loved her. I am telling you guys: Gene was a genuinely kind and loving person and he gave every ounce of devotion to his horse. As far as I knew, the mare wasn't broke to ride, I never saw a halter on her and she never left the property, but she was so loving and kind because of the gentle treatment that she had received for her entire life.
He had bought her from a ranch in northern Montana as a 2 year old. He got her, and a 2 horse slant trailer, hauled her home and she became an over sized puppy dog, and the trailer, full of brand new tack was never used again.
I moved away and life took me in many different directions after that, but I drove by to see her every time I visited my parents and I waved at old Gene, who would solemnly lift his hand and nod.
In the summer of 2016, however Gene passed away. My first question was: "where is Pretty Girl?"
She was still at Gene's and seemed to be getting fed, so we weren't terribly concerned, but we did know that Gene didn't have any children, so my mom did some investigating. She located the person who was handling the estate, and found out that everything was for sale, and they weren't sure what to do with the 16 year old, presumably unbroke mare. She said that my mom or I could have her if we were willing to give her a forever home.
Now, we can all pretty much agree that at any given point in time, I need another horse like I need a new hole in my head. But, I can't seem to help myself. I was bringing another mare to my parent's house so that I could wean her baby and I decided that, if Pretty Girl would get into the trailer, she could come home with me.
This was going to be a short trip, just over night because I had a friend come with me and we had to be back in town to go to work on Monday. On Saturday, we loaded up my mare, and set off for Weippe. When we got there, and got Ruby unloaded we immediately ran over to Gene's old place to see if we could even handle Pretty Girl.
The moment I got into the pasture, I knew that I would be willing to put in a lot of blood sweat and tears to make this work. Pretty Girl greeted us, and took treats and let us snuggle her. I slipped the halter onto her and led her around. She seemed very grateful for the attention, and her completely passive and loving life had made her into a sweet, willing horse. No guile, no vices, no problems.
The next day, we pulled my trailer over there and set everything up to minimize stress. I got her halter on and walked her to the trailer and began feeding her treats. After a few minutes, we put hay in the trailer, and poured grain on top and she jumped right in. Just to be sure she was okay, we unloaded her and then loaded her again a few times. This mare was a saint. She hadn't been in a horse trailer in 14 years! But, she had also never ever been mishandled or even pushed, so she had every reason to trust us completely. I fell madly in love with her then and there.
After a brief snafu on the way home that led to us being stranded at a gas station for a few hours while we waited for my mom to come rescue us, we got her home and we decided to call her Jeannie in homage to Gene.
I have had Jeannie for about 10 months now and she is more amazing every day. She loves to cuddle and will happily sleep in your lap all day.
She is also basically broke. I am not sure if she was trained before Gene picked her up, or if she is just so sweet that she will let you do whatever you want to her, but it all amounts to the same thing:
Jeannie is a keeper!
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