Beside the Stream

I went out to see Suzy’s little horse again.  As you may recall, Thankful is a yearling who was stuck in the snow on top of a mesa without food or water.  Someone from Suzy’s household had been skiing out every day with hay or water, but that little horse was still running away from humans the first time I saw her.  I thought the follow-up photo would be a pile of bones.

Here is Thankful two weeks later.  She comes slogging through the snow as soon as she sees us.  Suzy feeds her under a ponderosa pine, where there isn’t much snow. 

She likes her hay a lot.  A lot.

The thing that’s so sweet about her is that she’s not only hungry, she’s lonely too, and is really happy to visit with Suzy’s big dog. 

This is a horse who really wants a friend, even though they have to work through misunderstandings. 

Thankful is lonely and thin, but she is no longer thirsty.  Suzy lured her down to an irrigation ditch, so she has water.  

This faraway glade in the mountains is like a little slice of heaven, thanks to Suzy’s deliveries of hay, but it was hell to get there.  There has been a lot more snow since my last visit, and the wind had been blowing, obliterating the trail in some places.  It was really heavy going.  I came home, made chowder, and went to bed.  The next day I’m nursing a patch of missing skin on my heel, and I’m sore.  But Suzy will be out again carrying her bag of hay miles through the snow.   

Thanks.