Hiding!

A dark spot on an otherwise white landscape gave me a focus for my search for three missing ponies

I was doing midday chores, and it was time to bring the mares and foals into the corrals.  I had seen them at dawn off in the distance moving away, so I opted to bring them in later in the day rather than spend more time outdoors at zero degrees Fahrenheit.  When I started midday chores, they weren’t anywhere to be seen, so as I did preparatory things, I kept sweeping my gaze across the landscape.  Before long I saw one and then another come into view, heading my way. 

I counted my blessings as I welcomed the first pony and then the second, third, and fourth.  When the other three weren’t in view, I shut the first half of the herd in and pondered my search strategy.

There were six inches of snow on the ground, so I opted to follow the hoofprints of my arrivals back in the direction from which they’d come.  I went down into the ravine and up the other side then headed west, slowly climbing a small rise.  From that summit, I still didn’t see any ponies, so I kept tracking north.  Finally I saw something suspicious, a dark spot interrupting the white landscape.  It didn’t look like a pony, but it looked like a possibility, so I headed in that direction, thinking there’s an advantage to black and brown ponies versus grays in a winter landscape!

Found!

Slowly the dark spot began to take the shape of a foal’s hind end, sticking above the edge of a draw.  A few more minutes walking, and I arrived at the head of the draw where the two missing foals and the head mare were grazing.  I suspected the mare was hiding from me to avoid the discomfort of part-day weaning.  Nonetheless, she came to me as I approached and accepted the halter.  I tied the lead rope into reins and hopped on.  I hadn’t ridden her in awhile, but she carried me willingly where I needed us to go.  It was a thrill to be riding for the first time in some time across a beautiful landscape on a pony I love, the highlight of my day.

And a ride in that was the highlight of my day.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2019

You can find more stories like this one in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.