Sharing the Joy

Through the years that we’ve had our Curlies we’ve been able to share our joy concerning them with many people and in many different ways.  We’ve done demos at local stores, gone to shows, had a booth at Everything Equine, attended clinics, and opened our home for people who are allergic to “regular” horses and wanted to test Curlies.

Some of those tests have not worked, yet some have been rousing successes.  The folks may not have gone on to purchasing a horse from us but we know that the success in the allergy test they found on our farm opened doors for them that they thought had been closed forever.  That is profound joy.

We have recently, though, experienced an even deeper one; the joy of sharing our love of Curlies with our granddaughter, Caroline.  In truth, the bond began long before she was even cognizant of horses.

Her mother, Erica, loved horses as a child; still does.  However, the year she was 9 she wanted to join a horse oriented 4H.  We were happy to have her do so.  Her first meeting had no interaction with horses.  Her second meeting did and that is when we discovered she was horribly allergic to them.  It broke her heart.  But then came the fateful Rose Bowl Parade of 1/1/2000.  Although the first time she tested a Curly she had a huge reaction, the second time she did not.  Over the years she found that some seasons were better for her around the Curlies (low pollen) and she also learned that although she still responded somewhat to them, it was far less than the effects for her around “regular” horses.

Since her allergies denied her the experience of horses when she was young, she has been determined to allow that experience for her daughter.  Every visit here includes time with the horses, from the very first visit after Caroline was born and carried in a front-pack to this latest visit.  Now, though, Cari is almost three years old, and a bit more able and independent.  They arrived on a Wednesday evening and one of the first sentences out of Cari’s mouth was, “Go see Glory?” and off she ran to the paddock to see her.

Caroline's first introduction to *Glory

Caroline actually has a pretty good relationship with *Glory, especially after her February visit.  Her folks had driven through the night and needed sleep, but Cari was wide awake.  So Chuck took her down to the barn with him while he fed the two inside horses and packed the bags for the others.  She helped by carrying handfuls of hay, and in typical toddler fashion wandered and investigated some of the sundry items in the barn.  Chuck got busy stuffing the bags when he heard Cari say, “Look, buckeyes!” and looked up to see that she had crawled through the bars into *Glory’s stall and was picking up the balls of frozen manure.  Kids – gotta love them.  *Glory was happy to have the company and took great care around her before Chuck could come grab Caroline.

Chuck & Cari on *Walker

Cari does "airplane" to help learn balance.

This most recent visit will remain in our memories as well.  It marked the first time Chuck has shared a saddle with someone and the first time that Cari actually rode (pony ride) alone without someone right next to her.  We chose *Walker because she is most concerned with being careful of the human on her and is Chuck’s mare.  *Walker moved very carefully down the hill to the round pen and then made sure that Cari stayed on her back as she was being led.  We even had Cari do “airplane” so that she could begin to learn to keep her balance as *Walker moved without hanging on to anything.

This was a totally joyful experience for us.  We look forward to sharing more with her as she grows and also, sharing this joy with our two young grandsons as they grow.

May your Curlies bring you joy as well!

What a happy girl!