It Really Was Worth the Wait
A while ago I wrote about waiting. It was while I had Nez and he was lame. Constantly in pain, I waited for the signs that he was ready to be laid to rest. Having no horse to ride, I waited for the opportunity to be saddle bound. Looking for another horse, I waited until I find The One.
Waiting was hard. Waiting has always been difficult for me. Honestly, I hate waiting.
During the wait I was presented with MANY offers for other horses. Most were free. All were amazing deals, even the ones that were not free. And while all of them were almost right, none of them were 100% positively the horse I’d been dreaming about. Until Davis.
The circumstances that actually allowed me to have him forever were nothing short of miraculous and God’s hand is evident all along the way.
Waiting was SO worth it.
Then, my son wanted Nez as his own. He understood that he wouldn’t be with us for long, but wanted him to have a person of his own to love him all the way up until the end. It was a growing and life changing experience for my little cowboy and I am so grateful that God allowed everything to work out for good.
After Nez passed, my son mourned. Seriously and with all his heart. A few weeks later and we lost our dog. I had the dog since I was 17 years old, so my son had never known a day without him. Before Nez passed, my son had been talking about getting another horse afterwards and we decided it would be ok… But after he lost his Nez he waited.
He waited and thought it through. He waited and felt the loss fully. He waited. Not convinced that the time was right, he waited until he could be sure.
Unlike me, who waited only because I had to, lol… he waited with the wisdom that I never knew an 8 year old could have.
During this wait he carefully considered a lot of things and one day he had a quiet conversation with a paint gelding at the barn where we board. I don’t know what they said to each other, my son is fond of sharing certain details only with a horse. But after that conversation he marched up to me and stated assuredly, “I’m ready. I’d like another horse by Christmas.”
Well. How many kids get to TELL their parents that, lol?!
I emailed a friend that I met online, who had offered us Baby before Nez passed. She, too, had been waiting to see what my son would decide. “He’s finally ready.”
We had also been offered multiple horses for Ky. All free. All totally broke kid’s horses. Some big, some small. All great horses… but we waited. They were all located pretty close. But we took the drive out (over 3 hours away!) to meet her. Anything could have changed our plans while we were there. Anything could have gone wrong.
In fact, she wouldn’t move when he rode her that first day! Someone had to lead her around. And she was sore on her left front. She absolutely would not back up, even for me. We didn’t know if she’d even get in my 2 horse straight load without a fight. I asked my son what he wanted to do as he sat astride the little red pony that wouldn’t cooperate and he said, “I’m hot, let’s go home.”
I thought for a moment that he meant to leave her there… but oh no, he just decided that we’d better go ahead and load her up because it was hot and getting late. He knew. He’d waited, he’d chosen her above all the rest and he was ready for what lay ahead.
Today, 2 weeks later, it is obvious that our waits were well worth it. We are a blessed family to have 2 horses that are so beautiful and so perfectly matched for us. They have wonderful personalities that are sweet and affectionate. They are soft and carefull around us. They cart us around without an attitude problem and today I even rode Davis with my 3 year old in the saddle in front of me.
I think Baby Baily was waiting too. As well taken care of as she was, I think she’d been waiting for a boy of her own. Within the last two weeks she is no longer hard to catch. My son rides her all over without any help. He has her backing up softly like a pro. She’s an absolute joy. I think she got was she’d been waiting for, too. And I guess to her, it was worth the wait. She loves that boy! The picture above is the day after we brought her home, he’s riding her around in her halter 
Yesterday I poop scooped with the mare nuzzling my shoulder and the gelding sniffing my neck. Life doesn’t get much better. Thank you Lord for teaching me so much through these amazing creatures and thank you so much, God, for blessing us with these 2 at this moment in time.
2010 started off rough. Rough as hell at times. But it is turning out to show us in our own little realities how everything really is worked together for good.