“Just the thought makes our mouth water.”
We keep getting visions in our head days later.
No, we’re not talking about a juicy steak and fried potatoes with a cup of coffee, though that tantalizes our taste buds when we say it.
Actually, we’re recalling a horse we judged recently. The gorgeous golden palomino mare with big bald face, long beautiful pure white mane and tail didn’t even end up first on our card.
Yet, our heart truly skipped a beat when we saw her approach the entrance gate, and when that gold-watch-colored Quarter Horse trotted by, our heart rate increased.
Ribbing her handler about his “Triggerette,” in tongue-in-cheek-semblance to the renowned stallion Trigger, the stunning entry was a handful, unwilling to stand still or pose for even a second.
While that prevented our conscience from making her a blue-ribbon entry, the rambunctious attitude further enhanced our overall appreciation for her.
Despite sometimes wanting our mounts to be calm, cool and collected, especially as we’ve matured, those “gitty”-up-and-go horses have always been our favorites.
Nothing like one side-stepping-across the pasture head held high, tail-popping, we say “boo,” and off we go “hell-bent-for-election” with not a thought or concern crossing our mind. The world goes away, so to speak.
Days later, the image of that one horse still frequently crosses our memory. We think: “It sure would be fun to own her, ride her and make other folks’ mouth water when she goes by.”
But, with three dozen horses in the pasture, we sure don’t need another one. Unless the opportunity would arise, that is.
Likewise, there have been horses before her that we can remember with appreciation. We can recall many of the horses judged over the last five decades, and many of them weren’t first in class.
Other than a half dozen or so horses we’ve owned, with some degree of certain success in whatever endeavor asked, one specific horse stands out above all the others.
A golden buckskin stallion prominent in local circles when we got our first horse still brings a flitter to our memory as we can picture his color, conformation, ability, uniqueness and calm-to-flighty-to-deadhead attitude as if it was this second.
Reminds us of First Samuel 9:24: “It was an unforgettable time,” and Psalm 16:1: “intended to record memorable thoughts.”