Friday, June 18, 2010

A Sad Day at the Hacienda

Whelp, today was a pretty sad one for this cowgirl, as well as for McHotterson and many others.  

As you know I have claimed many times in this blog that we have too many horses.  And I mean it.  But what's a cowgirl to do when her husband, whom she adores like no other, is a horse man?  I mean, I do see the reality of time vs. horse passion actually becoming a realization to McH, but as of now we're still full-o-equine (and in all fairness, I love 'em, too).  

About five days ago we had a pretty bad storm here; it was bad enough it blew the rods off of one of my wind chimes on the back porch and sent it flying across the yard.  There were big limbs all over the front and back, and during the storm there were HUGE strikes of lightning, and booms of thunder all over.

A couple of nights ago, we noticed the horses hadn't been seen since the day before.  We were out at McH's parents, so he and his mom pulled on their rubber boots and headed out hunting the group down.  They found them lotted at the neighbors and knew they would be returned the next day.

The only worrisome part was one of them was missing.  Her name is Amanda and she is the BEST horse ever.  She has a sweet disposition, is about 22 years-old, and her only flaw if you will, is, as a former roping horse and in her older age, her feet were just not great.  In fact, I'd say you could call her crippled.  The only time she has been ridden since we've had her is with my nephews, 5 and 3, and we never ran her.  She was perfect for the little kids and we looked forward to many more years of kids getting on her back for a walk around the pasture.  She was the sweetest mare I've ever been around.  She foaled many times, and was a good momma and a sweet companion.  We have some of her offspring in our group.

All this to say, somehow during that storm, and we really have no idea what happened, she started to follow the other horses to the neighbors and never made it.

They searched and searched for her that night, but when she didn't come up and they couldn't find her, we were worried, but really thought she would wander back after resting a while.

Unfortunately, my mother-in-law discovered her this morning from the smell.  She passed away sometime between the storm and this morning.

Needless to say, we are really down around here about it.  Amanda was a great horse and loved by many people (and I think probably some horses, too).

Here's a little video of Amanda (the bigger one with white socks) and Amigo, her grandson.  I L-O-V-E this little colt.  The minute I saw him and was around him, I fell in love.  He's beautiful and has a really sweet disposition (hence his name).  It only sealed the deal when weeks later McH told me his birthday was April 10th, the same day as mine!  

Anyway, this day McH and I rode out into the pasture to find these two.  We left them together, alone, so Amanda could teach Amigo the ways of a horse and to calm him down a little bit. 

By the end, she was annoyed and he was in love.  (FYI:  I would love it if you turned the volume down so you didn't have to hear my annoying voice.  But, because I asked you to do so, I'm sure you will do the opposite so just know I know it's annoying). 


Amanda and Amigo from Charla Jenkins on Vimeo.

R.I.P. Amanda.  We will miss you so much!


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7 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry for your loss! I don't know if you saw my "blessing" the other day about my niece...who is throwing a surprise birthday party for her horse (and reminded me "Sh! Don't tell my mom...she doesn't know yet!"). A few years back, my in-laws were visiting when they got the call that my niece's former horse (her very first horse) had passed, and the poor girl was inconsolable. It's no wonder to me that she wants to celebrate her new horse (who isn't so "new", but new to her). Although we don't have horses (yet...until we eventually retire to the family ranch in Montana), I love the animals and spend as much time as I can with them when we're visiting, so I can recognize the bond that anyone can have with them. I'm genuinely sorry for your loss.

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  2. So sorry for ya'll!!! I still think about our sweet horse Brownie all the time. They sure are special!!! (even though I'm scared of most horses these days????)

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  3. CHAR! I'm so sorry! What a sweet video! ANDDDD I didn't turn the volume down(haha) and your voice is NOT annoying! Loved the video!

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  4. Oh no! So sad to hear about Amanda. I'll be thinking about y'all...

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  5. Oh, this makes me so sad. I hate loosing pets we love. My husband came home this week and spoke the same of one our horses. She is the best horse and super with the kids. But time has taken its toll on her and she just did not winter well. She hasn't passed yet, but makes me sad for when the day come.

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  6. i am so sorry, charla! :( bless amanda's little heart.

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  7. Hi there. New follower here. The header caught my eye on another blog I was browsing. I absolutely adore horses and would love to have a field full of my own one day. I am so terribly sorry to hear of your loss. Losing a pet is like losing a dear friend. I'll be thinking of you and your Amanda :)

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