Wild Horses

I love these photos.  They so vividly capture the beauty of these majestic animals.  My friend Jillian has been talking about having a framed print of horses in her home, and these photos would all be perfect.  They are all so amazing and would really add to any room of the house.  

Horses are emotional, beautiful,  intelligent, strong, and yet such fragile animals.  Having grown up with horses as a part of my daily life in Eastern Oregon these photos just drew me in.  While these horses in the photos above are wild, the ones that I rode and love(d) so much were free and wild to me. 

I used to ride our paint Tawny almost daily as a young girl.  My mother, the original horse lover, taught me how to tack up the horses (put on the saddle, bridle, etc), groom them, ride them, respect them, and love them.   There was nothing better than riding Tawny every summer day.  We both loved trotting along, the smell of the grass, the sun beating down on us.  Even though I was a young girl, Tawny let me ride her, and was such a gentle and trustworthy girl.  Nothing could take me off the back of that horse...until one fateful day, as we raced under a tree, I was ripped off her back from branches clawing across my face.  A ride I had done almost daily, and I would always duck as low as I could as we raced under, pushing my face into her soft flowing hair on her neck.  But that day I was pulled off her back, thrown to the ground, knocked out, and never really got back on her.  She stood by me, as worried as my family, as my dad and mom raced to the back of the pasture to get me.  It was something I will never forget.  Partly because, everyday I see these scars on my face and neck, faded by the years, but reminding me of those moments. 

Tawny has passed now.  Her only offspring, Bud, stands alone in the back pasture of my parents home, loafing around and acting like the dog he thinks he is.  He was never really broken, but he is as sweet as they come. 

I am grateful for my experience with horses and knowing the love of them.  I thank my parents so much for providing me this part of my life.   Because of these experiences I will always love horses.  And like the wild horses in these photos, I like to picture Tawny running free in heaven, young, and wild.

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