Sometimes it all comes together...it just takes a while.

I've had Rose for nearly four years. She is the first horse I have ever "owned" on my own. Yes, I've had horses most of my life, but I've always worked with those horses for other people or my mother and I have shared the horses we have owned as a family. I liken it to the family dog. You know, the dog belongs to the entire family. That's what it was like with the horses.

But, Rose - she is mine. Nobody else had a say when I purchased her. In fact, I remember telling a few people I was thinking of buying a draft mare and for various reasons they tried to talk me out of purchasing her. But, she had won my heart from the very moment we met.  It was the way she looked at me, with big brown expressive eyes. Her eyes said everything. She was kind. She had a large heart. She had spirit.(She tried to buck me off the first time I rode her!) She was beautiful, and she knew it.

Our relationship  has grown over the years and I hope that we have learned from each other, because I know that she has taught me far more than any other horse has in my life. But,  I also know her better that I know myself. We are in this journey together, and while the path has had some bumps in it, they were all learning experiences. I like to think that I am a better horsewoman and she is a better horse every time we work together.

Today, as we were working in the round pen, I asked her to move out into a canter, and she caught her hoof on the outside board of the pen. She fell to her knees, but quickly got up and promptly came trotting to me in the center of the pen. It was like a child that had just fallen off it's bike and running to it's mother.

You could see the worry all over my poor mare's face. She thought the "tiger" had surely made her trip over her own feet and they were still after her. While I was concerned for her, it made my heart burst with love that this big, strong mare came to me for safety and reassurance - as  if I could just hold her in my lap and comfort her like an 1,800 pound lap dog.

So, I scratched her belly and cooed to her and then sent her back out to work in the round pen to deal with the "tigers" and work around me. She soon forgot all about the tigers, since I (her fearless leader) re-assured her that they were gone.

Sometimes it all comes together- it just takes a while. I often felt on our journey together that Rosie and I could have gone different directions, but with a little patience, forgiveness, and firm direction  we have proven to each other that we are more than just horse and owner. We are a team.

As a side note, the music today is chosen because my very first horse was named after this song by America. Yes, his name was Magic. He was the horse that started it all when I was seven. And, I still have a photo of him and me in my office at work. America - Magic