When I was a small child, I discovered the joy of reading. This was one of my favorite books. It was given to me by a teacher for my achievements. It may very well be the first indication that horses were in my future! I'm going to see if I still have this one. It's overdue for a re-read.
Keeping a pony for the winter sounds a bit romantic, doesn't it? My best recollection is that a little girl wanted her parents to allow her to board the pony for a carnival that used it for rides during the warmer seasons.
Oh, if only I could talk my dad and mom into that! As a child, I can imagine that I thought the only hurdle for the little girl was convincing her parents how cute they were and having a fence around the backyard. HA!
Well, now I'm all grown up and have two ponies for the winter! (They're not really ponies, but full-sized horses, and last winter there were three. R.I.P. Buddy.)
Talk about a fantasy world... True, I don't remember much about the book; but I do remember there was no mention of carrying 5 gallon buckets filled with water through ten- inch drifts of snow and ice, being extra cautious not to spill any on her for fear of frostbite from the below-zero windchill! Nor was there any mention of pushing a wheel barrow through that deep frosty mess. Or how about trying to dump said wheel barrow only to find the cargo frozen to the bottom of the cart?
I'm fairly certain there was nothing written about miles of extension cords trailing to heated water buckets, or having to clean out those hanging buckets when that cute little pony decides to use it as a port-o-john! I'll bet that sweet child never twisted her ankle by stepping down wrong on a frozen... uh... dumpling. I don't recall if the girl in the story had a dog. If she had, it would have been fun to watch her little dog running from the stall with... uh... dumpling stains on his pretty white face.
Yes, keeping a pony for the winter isn't exactly a romance, but I do enjoy the break from the heavier smells of summer and the biting flies. I like that I can clean both stalls without stopping to wipe the sweat from my brow. And there's nothing better than a horseback ride through fluffy white snow on a sunny winter day. A big plus is walking through the paddock without sinking ankle-deep in muck.
Now, if only we can get back to normal temperatures and I can dump this cold... I will ride off into the sunset on my pony for the winter.
Before you go...
Don't you agree it would look lovely in my blue country kitchen?
I used to say, "I never win anything!" but not anymore... I won a signed book last month! Maybe I'm on a roll. Or maybe I'm just wishin'.
