Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Do You Remember The Moment?

I am following the lead of Marissa from Tucker the Wunderkind and I want to share with all of you what "the moment" of knowing when Jimmy was going to be my horse. You know you've all had it with your horses and I think Marissa describes it best in her post:
"For a second there, all the practical concerns (Are we suited for each other?  Can this horse do the job I want him to do?  Do I have a place to keep him?  Can I afford this?) are silenced.  There is just you and this horse, the rest of the planet falls away, and you know that you belong together, and you'll figure the rest out from there."
For me, it was the Fourth of July, 2005. It was really hot and sticky and I was going up to visit Doobie with my mom & my puppy for the first time in a few weeks. I was a full time student at The Illinois Institute of Art & rarely had the time to make it out to visit 'Ole Doob. I was excited to see him and as we pulled up into the parking area near the barn, I spotted a little worm-filled belly with scrawny legs and and a wimpy tail in the "New Horse" paddock. The little guy had a fly mask on, so I couldn't even see his face.

I've always had a "thing" for babies - so seeing the length of his tail was basically like holding up a sign with flashing lights saying "JESS COME HERE RIGHT NOW, IT'S A BABY" with an arrow pointing to the paddock - and since the majority of horses at the farm were well into their 20's I really was a heat-seeking missile. He looked no more than a year old, had ribs pointing every which way, a belly full of worms, and a nose so tiny and soft I wanted to hold it and kiss it for days. Since he had the fly mask on I couldn't see the beautiful white blaze covering his face, I just saw the tip of it and that pink nose with an upside-down heart poking at me through the gate.

He nuzzled my puppy, and followed her around the paddock. She darted through his legs, he curiously watched her with the "What's your name?" look on his face. The second I held his fragile nose in my hands I looked at my mom and melted. She knew it was all over.

The ride home I called to find out what the story was and why he was there. Mom and I talked about how "I didn't need a baby right now" and how "I'm still in college, I need to focus on my school and my career" but I just couldn't stop aching for that tiny nose and those spindly legs and that belly full of worms. I'm a "healing" personality so when I see something or someone in need I just desperately want to make it better.

Two more summers passed and the Fall of 2007 I finally asked to break that little colt. I started with playing with his feet and brushing him, and after a few weeks, I was on his back. He was a natural and the more I worked with him, the more I fell in love with him. I always said to my parents, "It'd really be nice to have a back-up horse...for when Doobie isn't around anymore..." and "Someday I'd really like to have a horse like Blaze, he just is perfect." (Jimmy's name at the time) They argued that "Doobie will be your last horse" and that "That Blaze pony is way too small anyway" because at the time, Jimmy was only 14hh, at most. He was really a peanut, and I looked ridiculous on him.

Jimmy's first ride, September, 2007

I had cried myself to sleep every night through December & then Christmas Day came & went. My mom anticipated that Dad would cave and buy me "the pony", so she hadn't bought me any other gifts. By December 27th Dad just couldn't take it anymore. He said "How much is that damn pony? I'll write you a check if you quit crying about it." And so it was, just as my mom saw the determination in my face July 4, 2005 – I wanted that baby and in the end, I got him...for $300. He's perfect and I couldn't imagine things any other way.

*******UPDATE******Looking through old photo albums this week, I found photos of "Our first kiss" - The first day I met Jimmy and that magical first time I kissed his nose and fell in love with him. It's not often you have a photo of "The Moment". Unbelievably blessed!!! Enjoy :-)


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