I shall start with her latest escapade. One morning just a few weeks ago, my kids were bustling around getting their outside clothes on, grabbing lunch pails and heaving backpacks onto shoulders. All of a sudden - they were screaming!!! "There is a horse on the deck!!!" Sure enough, there is Ms. Jesse-Lou, looking in the mudroom door with an expression like, "what's for breakfast??" Of course the kids thought this was the funniest thing ever and, lucky for me, all their friends got a chance to see when the bus came along a few moments later (what the neighbours must think .... but I digress). Now, it should be said that in my pre-Parelli days, I would have definitely freaked out - thereby making the job of removing a horse from the deck much more difficult. But savvy changes things ... so I strolled out the door with a happy-to-see-her expression, greeted her with a friendly stroking session. Then I casually sauntered off the deck towards the barn with a friendly, "well let's find you some breakfast" and walked away. I didn't look back and sure enough moments later Jesse was trundling along beside me heading for her stall. Oh - I should mention - Jesse has figured out how to open gates ... hence the deck experience. She also thinks its great sport to flip the float heater out of the trough ... hence the cronically frozen water.
What I love most about having her in my life - you ask?? Her play drive. It is extreme. This filly will play any time, day or night. She is a LBE - calm, confident and curious. Whenever she sees me, she canters to where I am - leaving food and/or friends, just to let me know that if I ever want to play, she is ready. One night in August of this year, I took the chihuahua out for his last piddle before bed. There was Ms. Jess in the grass paddock alongside the house, whinnying to get my attention - at 11:30pm. Such a warm, moonlit night - I thought "why not - there are no rules about playing only during daylight hours". So we played. I got the ball out and we played soccer with her at Liberty and had a rousing game of Stick to Me. Afterwards, I was speechless at the beauty and enthusiasm of that play and was humbled by the realization of what I had just done - played with a yearling in the moonlight!! A dream come true - a dream I hadn't even dreamt of!
The drawback of having such a wonderful horse in my life?? She is a source of guilt. On days when I can't fit in a play session - I feel guilty. I feel like I have let her down - I see images of her face waiting for me at the gate. When these feelings set in, I try to put it in perspective. She could have been purchased by someone who would have just turned her out and not touched her until after her third birthday. She could have fallen into hands that believe that "breaking" a horse also includes breaking her spirit as well as her body. She could have found a home that treated her play drive as naughty, something to be disciplined out of her. So although I can't endulge her by devoting 23.5 hours per day to playing with her - she has a bright future ahead of her and lives a happy life. And me? She makes me a better person. Without a doubt.
So stay tuned for more Jesse-capades! I am sure she has lots to teach me and me to teach her!
Wanna play?
Wanna play?
