Horse Tales for the Soul, Volume 2

By Bonnie Marlewski-Probert

If you are a horse lover, you will fall in love with the entire Horse Tales for the Soul series of 7 books. Volume 2 brings you 46 true stories from horsemen around the globe. These stories focus on the amazing relationships we form with our horses, the fun, the laughter and the sadness in those relationships. I guarantee, you will find a story or stories in this book that will make you remember your time with horses, relive the fun you shared or inspire you to go out and RIDE!

A portion of the proceeds from sales are donated to Therapeutic Riding Centers and other animal-related non-profit organizations through our affiliate account at http://horsetalesforthesoul.com. Enjoy a great book, help a great cause at the same time and everyone wins!

REVIEW: "Over a decade ago I stopped riding as a serious hobby. Today, after reading this book, I have been inspired to again take up this sport. While reading these pages I was reminded of the great learning, joy, friendship and inspiration that horses brought to my life, and how much I miss them. Thank you to all of (the) authors for sharing their amazing stories and for providing the motivation to make new friends.

We all have special friends in our lives, and perhaps none more special than our equine friends. Horse Tales for the Soul takes a look at the extraordinary bonds between horses and people. From the tiniest miniature to the largest warmblood, from the beginning of new life to the end of a long one, you will finish the book feeling inspired and in awe of the joy in these relationships." Linda P, La Porte, Indiana.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bonnie Marlewski-Probert
• Release date: Jul 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310472893

Bonnie Marlewski-Probert

Bonnie Marlewski-Probert is the author of more than 20 books and more than 1000 magazine articles. She is a national speaker, a horsewoman, a teacher and a big supporter of animal-related non-profits. She is NOT political. She is NOT an activist. She is a girl from the Midwest who owes her career to her work with animals and does everything she can to pay that forward. As a result, we works with dog & cat shelters and Therapeutic Riding Centers across the USA, helping to educate them on how to be more successful so they can expand the important work they are already doing.Bonnie started her career in writing as a how-to magazine writer who taught "riding lessons" through her two syndicated columns in more than 30 horse publications across North America. From there, she branched out to mainstream magazines, writing on a wide variety of topics outside of the animal world. That led to book deals, how-to videos, TV/Radio and National speaking engagements, which all, ultimately led to her starting her own book publishing firm in the early 90's. Since then, Bonnie has published the writings of hundreds of authors from around the globe and continues to do so today. She balances her time between publishing, helping animal-related non-profits and her newest guilty pleasure, writing novels.

Book preview

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my husband Keith, Melonie Brewer, Bryan Boyce and all the horse lovers in this book who were willing to share their very personal stories with the rest of us. Thanks!

Keith is the most patient, understanding husband on the planet. Compiling this book and volume one took several months of time, energy and effort and Keith was understanding through all of that work.

Melonie and Bryan are the reason that Horse Tales for the Soul, Volumes One & Two exist. After reading one of my syndicated columns, both Melonie and Bryan sent me their personal horse-related stories. I was astounded by their generosity and willingness to share very personal stories with ME.

Their generosity made me wonder how many other great stories were out there that no one had written down or shared with someone else. It was on that day that Horse Tales for the Soul was born.

I want to give a special thank you to Susan Stafford, our editor, for agreeing to leave each story as close to its original form as possible. I really wanted these stories to be shared in their original state, not rewritten by professionals. Their stories and YOURS are meaningful just as they are. I hope that you will read these stories and realize that YOUR own stories are just as important and that you don’t have to be a professional writer to change the life of your reader, you just have to care and be willing to share your story!

Introduction

Horse Tales for the Soul, Volume Two

My intention in compiling Horse Tales for the Soul, Volume One and now Volume Two was to bring you the best, most heartwarming, life affirming stories that I could find from around the world. I wanted these stories to stand on their own so that even people who didn’t have any experience with horses could appreciate the life lessons housed within each story.

My goal was to create one volume of great stories, but I was so gratefully overwhelmed by fabulous stories that we decided to do this second volume.

When I originally compiled this volume of stories, there were three stories included that I wrote. After 20 years in the horse industry, I have 3000 stories to tell. However, the stories that came in from horse lovers around the world were so wonderful that I put my own stories on a back burner and made room for the best stories! We have included as many stories as we could possibly fit into this volume and we still have dozens of really wonderful stories that will change your life! Watch for volume three in the future.

What follows are the stories of authors from every age group, every walk of life, every part of the world who all share one thing in common, their life with horses. These people have been gracious enough to share a part of their life with the rest of us and I know you are going to be touched, as I have, by each and every one of them!

As I warned in Volume One, I recommend investing in a box of tissues before you begin reading!

Al Capony

Written by: Staci Layne Wilson

Rule number one: Never take a bronc buster with you to help pick out your first horse. That was how my first pony was selected.

I was five years old and ready to enter the magical realm of horsedom. My mother was dating a rodeo cowboy at the time, and she took him with her to help select my surprise Christmas gift. Boy, was I surprised when I ran up on that misty yule morning to hug my brand new pony and got bitten! Cinnamon Cinder was not only famous for his appearances on a local car dealer’s TV commercials, but he was also infamous for his nasty disposition.

Cinnamon, who must have been all of nine hands high, struck fear into the heart of every man, woman or child who encountered him. He was a young, beautiful, rich toasted-gold palomino with a fluffy snow-white mane and a long sweeping tail. I often got a prime view of that long, sweeping tail as Cinnamon ran away from me, or kicked at me if he was feeling particularly cantankerous. He would sneak up behind any unsuspecting humans and nip their posteriors with pincerlike teeth. He would kick or strike with the speed of an angry rattler without a moment’s notice. He broke out of his corral often, and would steal tools or any other items from workmen whom he seemed to know were repairing the fence and thereby threatening to end his midnight raids on the neighbors’ flowerbeds or gardens.

As any horse-crazy child with her first pony can attest, I overlooked his demonic disposition and loved him with all of my heart. I gave Cinnamon treats, combed his mane, and once I even lay down beside him as he slept. . . then he woke up and picked me up by the skin of my bare back with his teeth, tossing me across the yard like a little rag doll.

Yet I persisted. With the help of my mother, I finally learned to bridle and saddle Cinnamon. I was thrown more times than I care to remember, and was hurt and confused. Why did Cinnamon dislike me so? In those days it did not occur to me that Cinnamon had been spoiled and perhaps even abused in the past and it wasn’t my fault - or his.

Finally, my mother decided that it was high time Cinnamon Cinder learned a lesson. She caught him, bridled and saddled him, and mounted. And was promptly bucked off. She got on again, only to be bucked off again. This went on for about half an hour until my mother finally conceded defeat. Mom had grown up on a ranch, and she knew a lot about taking care of ponies. She even knew a lot about bronc riding, not only from having All-Around World Champion Cowboy Casey Tibbs as a close friend of the family when she was young, but two of her brothers were also rodeo champions and one kept a bucking string of his own. My mother told me she was often reprimanded by her brother for taming the broncs with her kindness and her impromptu rides around the pasture on them. But Cinnamon. . . Cinnamon was a breed apart!

About a month after the acquisition of my very own pony, a horse-owning friend of my mother’s came over to the house and listened sympathetically to our woes. After hearing the worst of it, the friend proposed, Why don’t you let me give him a whirl?

He’ll more likely give you a whirl, Mom laughed. The laugh was on us as we watched the horsewoman stride right up to ‘AI Capony’, catch him neatly by the forelock and bridle him without having to pry his mouth open with a crowbar. She then got the saddle.

Cinnamon tried his, I’ll hold my breath ‘till I turn blue routine. I had fallen for this one many times, only to have the cinch so loose that when Cinnamon exhaled, I would end up on the ground when I stepped in the stirrup to mount. Cinnamon took great delight in this, as it saved him the trouble of bucking me off later. It didn’t work for him this time - he got a knee in the belly and let the air out of his expanded lungs with a grunt of dismay.

The horsewoman threw a long leg over the diminutive pony’s back and off they went at a smooth, controlled jog. Cinnamon tucked his little head like a show pony and obeyed every command immediately with the ease and poise of a seasoned pleasure horse. I turned green with jealousy as I watched the horsewoman and Cinnamon circle the field in a controlled, easy canter. She rode up to me, brought Cinnamon to a halt and hopped off. I got on, and was unceremoniously dumped within seconds. Cinnamon could definitely discern the pansies from the pros; there was no doubt about that.

We took Cinnamon to only one show. It was a local affair, open to all breeds. Proud owner that I was, I was quite sure that the stunning Cinnamon Cinder would win hooves down. After all, he was incredibly beautiful. He was a purebred Shetland (in retrospect, I have no doubt of that, even though he did not come with papers) of the elegant, streamlined American type, with a ‘model horse’ sculpted head, crescent moon ears and large, expressive dark eyes. Everyone fell in love with him at first sight. That is, until he saw them and charged!

Since I was only five, I had to go in the lead line class. What harm could possibly befall me there? I was securely seated in my little Roy Rogers western pony saddle and my mom had a firm hold of the lead rope. None of these precautions mattered to Cinnamon. Within moments of entering the arena, Cinnamon had the bad humor to deposit me in the only mud puddle! My pride was hurt more than anything. I’m told that I wailed about my ruined cowboy hat for a good 15 minutes while Cinnamon led several people around and around the ring on a merry chase.

Soon, my mother decided that she wanted her daughter to remain in one piece and sold Cinnamon Cinder to a local private school. Cinnamon would be the mascot of the school and spend his days free of saddle and bridle, wandering the playground (in search of school children he could teach a lesson to, no doubt).

It may have been the best thing for both of us, but I will never forget the day I watched the horse trailer get smaller and smaller, and then finally disappear in the distance. When it was gone, I went into my room and looked at pictures of palomino ponies with tears in my eyes.

Staci Layne Wilson

Biography: Staci Layne Wilson is the author of The Horse’s Choice (training how-to) and The Dance (horsey fiction). I’ve loved horses ever since I could formulate the words to start asking my mom for one. I’ve worked as a trainer, and as a writer for publications such as Horse Illustrated and Horse and Horseman. Right now I am down to just one horse, a fuzzy Palomino Icelandic named Faxi, who looks (and acts!) just like the Thelwell Pony. You can visit Staci on the web at http://www.staciwilson.com.

Chapter One

The Miracle

Of The Horse

Moonlight Horses

Written by: Laine Raia

It was a warm, still night in September, about 11:30 p.m.. Three of my guys were down in their turnout ring, sacked out for the night. It was odd for all three to be down at the same time, but then it was an unusually pleasant night after an unusually hot day. Horses in the furthest ring were standing, so there were guards on duty after all. I did not turn on any of the ring or barn lights; I did not unchain and open the gate. I simply climbed through.

No one got up, although all were aware of my presence. I walked to the center of their circle, sat down in the middle, and then lay on my back. The sand was cool. I could touch each of them from where I lay.

I heard an owl off in the distance, the horses munching and walking about in the back turnout. A horse from the stable behind us whinnied. The phone rang in the barn. I could hear our radio playing. An airplane droned high overhead, its lights mingling with the many stars. For 20 minutes, I just hung out with my horses. Sharing their time. Becoming one with them. Feeling their mood, serene yet aware.

Those 20 minutes were the most awesome I’ve ever spent with horses, not aboard their backs. My horses and I have a special relationship. I respect them and they trust me. I am accepted by them as an alpha horse, if not the alpha horse. But this was different. This time I knew what it felt like to be one of them. To be completely accepted as a herd member. Some people have had horses all their lives, but are never fortunate enough to have such a touching experience, sharing their time in this special way. The feeling comes back each time I hear the night sounds on a balmy evening. And it will come back forever.

Laine Raia

Biography: Laine Raia. Laine is a licensed riding instructor and proprietor of The Ponderaia, an equine boarding and leasing facility in North Reading, Massachusetts, focusing on the adult rider. The Ponderaia has been the recipient of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Horse Farm of Distinction Award which recognizes excellence in the industry every year since 2000.

A contributing author to all seven Horse Tales for the Soul volumes, Laine is published in Dog Tales for the Soul, Happy Endings Volumes I & II, Horse Tales for the Funny Bone and Dog Tales for the Funny Bone. Laine edits manuscripts for established and first-time authors. Her reviews appear on the backs of mysteries, children’s books, cookbooks and equine novels.

Laine is currently working in collaboration with fellow Horse Tales author and fiancé, Ed Swauger, on their meeting through the series and subsequent engagement on an Idaho horse drive in 2009. They will be married in the summer of 2015.

Laine can be reached through her web site www.ponderaia.com.

Payback

Written by: Samuel Peery

My father-in-law had a black Appaloosa with a star on her forehead. I always believed this was put there because she was possessed of such good behavior. She had been an excellent trail horse, and would willingly pack deer out of the steep canyons of Cedar City, UT, where she was foaled and raised.

When she was seven years old, she foundered on new spring grass. My father-in-law believed she would never recover, and telephoned to sadly inform us of his intention to sell her for meat the next weekend. Having taken a course in horse care recently at Utah State University, we attempted unsuccessfully to convince him to have her treated by the vet. We had always loved Tywee, so we offered to purchase her for the value of the meat price. He reminded us that a fool and his money are soon parted, but accepted our offer, selling her to us for a mere $200.

We loaded the mare with acutely painful hooves into our trailer, bringing her to our home in Cache Valley, Utah. We put therapeutic horseshoes on her with pads and prepared a stall with deep sand to ease her pain. She responded well to treatment and within several months, was able to continue trips to the mountains, which she seemed to enjoy as much as we did. Five months after we acquired Tywee, my father-in-law came for a visit. He did not even go into the house to greet his daughter; rather, he headed straight for the pasture in the back yard. With tears in his eyes, he put his arms around Tywee’s neck, hugged her, and exclaimed, I’m so very glad they saved your life.

Thirteen years passed, during which Tywee was a dependable horse-partner in the 4-H program, search and rescue, trail riding, and with her newly acquired skill of pulling wagons. Our family built a buckboard and enrolled to participate in a 425-mile-wagon-train to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of Utah’s statehood. There were over 100 wagons starting from our hometown of Logan, and we had the misfortune of preceding an unruly team of Percheron draft horses that could not be held back with the lines of the teamsters. Instead, they would stop on our water breaks by ramming the tongue of their huge covered wagon into the back of my new light buckboard. After being pounded by the wagon behind us for 25 miles on the first day, I resolved not to be caught in front of that hitch again.

The wagons assembled for departure early the next morning. I drove Tywee and the buckboard safely in behind a beautiful large covered wagon, about 30 wagons behind the leader. Just before the wagon master shouted, Wagons ho! I turned around in time to see a familiar gray team of monster horses pull in directly behind me. They were freshly rested, nostrils snorting steam in the crisp morning air. Their cleated hooves pawed nervously as