A Birthday Surprise for Lindsay

Part 1


Lindsay Jane may have fallen out into this world but she hit the ground running. My youngest daughter has been a going concern from day one with her bubbly, outgoing, independent personality.

Her bout with brain cancer may have stunted her growth and slowed down her response time but it didn't diminish her heart, her loyalty or her fearless attitude. Lindsay is a force to be reckoned with and I couldn't do what I do here without her. Over this last year she has carried the burden of resposivility for my horses in a manner I never intended or expected. It is important to me she knows how special she is to me ...... And to the world.

Considering the circumstances of this past year, I felt that Lindsay's birthday celebration needed to be something particularly special.  With finances being pretty tight since Dave lost his job nearly four years ago, I was actually dreading this birthday thinking I really couldn't do for Lindsay in the manner she deserves.

 Sometimes the best gift in the world can not be bought and being short on funds helped remind me of that. What could be done for Lindsay that would bring her the joy that she brings to me?

It sounds like a difficult question but it was easier to answer than to actually deliver.  For my readers to understand the difficulty in delivering the perfect gift and why the gift is indeed perfect for her, here's a  bit of history.

 Just knowing Lindsay and her love of the horses, it only made sense the perfect gift would involve her love and commitment to these amazing horses. That was the easy part.

Even knowing which horse is particularly special to her is easy. You see about thirteen years ago I brought home a  mare who had a pretty rough start.  While the mare never wanted for her physical needs, emotionally she was bankrupt.  Lindsay is the one who did the work to turn that around.

Over the years a bond has developed between my youngest daughter and my oldest brood mare that is the stuff legends are built from. Many horse people only dream of connecting with a horse on the level that exists between these two. Yet the impairments of each has interfered with the loftiest expression of that trust............riding.

You see Bey Aana was started under saddle when we got her. However, she was green broke........ very green and she had been protected from anything that might spook her. That meant normal everyday stuff scared the crap out of her.

Not only that but I suspect she never did quite figure out what riding was about. As an over achiever Aana worries that she might not be delivering as expected. That concern causes her to be nervous until she "gets it." Once she does, she is just as calm as any horse on the place.

I didn't bring Aana home to ride her. I brought her home to save her from kill buyers. It was never my plan to do anything with her but let her have a few babies and live like a normal horse.

Lindsay immediately saw the fear of people that ruled this mare and took it upon herself to befriend her. What others would have seen as a reason to reject her, my daughter saw as a reason to give the mare extra love.

Winning over Aana became Lindsay's personal project. Her intention was not to ride her. It was to teach the mare the world is a safe place. All Lindsay wanted was for the mare to trust her and she never wavered from her goal even when the mare made it difficult at times.

Lindsay seem to feed off the challenge and in return, achieving it built Lindsay's confidence. They grew together and Aana learned to trust others through her bond with Lindsay.

Over the years Lindsay has fluctuated in what she's thought she wanted to do with the horses. She's ridden off and on but never really expressed an interest in wanting to pursue it until about three years or so ago.

When Lindsay decided she might like to resume riding, her old gelding had developed an issue with nerve damage and was no longer safe to ride. Dandy was always available to her but somewhere along the way she began thinking the horse she really wanted to ride was Aana. The only problem neither has enough experience for the other.

To be continued........

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