Quest

Sundays at the ranch are designed to be laid back. Impromptu is the word of the day. Not like a Saturday where we have a list of tasks we have planned to try to get accomplished, Sundays are spontaneous. Lunch, after morning worship, leads us into the arms of our creator for whatever it is we need.

Today I had decided to call my horse up to the barn and doctor her wound. Reminded me of our Sunday teaching about Jesus healing on the Sabbath. I had to grin that I too would be helping heal on a Sunday, tending to the healing of the horse. Okay, it is a different magnitude but I still got to join in on God's healing process by applying the wound Kote. I called but Jazz didn't even look up from her munching of green grass to acknowledge my presence on the top of the ridge. However, my call did spark the interest of one of the white arabians and I assumed it was Chantol. She loves to visit with her humans and follows us around the pastures. About half way up the hill I realized it wasn't Chantol after all, it was Quest.

Quest came to the ranch a little over a year ago because he was pasture buddies with Mystic. He got on the trailer with her and so his owners gave him to us as a bonus. His riding history is unknown but he would not let us near him to put on a halter. I spent the better part of last summer playing the friendly game with him in a small square pen and getting him to accept the halter. He has been out to pasture with the herd since last fall and is not one of the horses that comes readily up to greet us when we walk among the herd.

Today he ran up, accepted a treat and when I opened the gate and walked away he ventured inside. With a little work and lots of friendly game that included treats, I was able to halter him. We just played on the lead line and the horse on his left side seemed very happy to be with me but the horse on the right side was more into rearing and calling out to the herd. Ever feel like you have two people inside. One is okay with your situation, the other side is over reacting to it. Horses don't communicate well between brain hemispheres but I have never seen anything like this extreme in Quest today. If I stood on his left, he was calm and okay with me but when I stood on the right he was reactive to the extreme. He kept trying to put me back on the left side and even reared up a few times.

It was still a treat to have such a God given opportunity to play with Quest. It got me really fired up about working the horses this year. Galahad and Zippi's first rides are planned for this summer. I look forward to seeing them all undersaddle this summer-- I guess we have our hands full-- Quest, Mystic, Apache, Galahad, Zippi, and Taffy. Each of them have their own story, their own personalities, their own challenges. I have often dreamed of riding on Quest-- isn't he beautiful? Just as the photo illustrates, he is a beautiful mover and as we build up his confidence this spring his Quest is just beginning.

While all this dreaming was happening at the barn the boys were out fishing. Rosco caught his fish again-- rumor has it he has made a deal with a couple fish that if they allow him and only him to catch them he'll throw them back. It must be Wilbur's family-- right Tiger?

What are your ranch stories? Let us know about your adventures at the ranch. Are you on a Quest?