Some mornings they come trotting up to the fence as we walk past; many more they simply graze in the distance. This morning they came to say hello. There are actually three adjoining properties with horses, but those we are closest to are the herd at Spirit Wind Horse Rescue. I’m not an especially huge fan of horses, they scare me, but I do enjoy standing and talking with them when they choose to come up to the fence. They’re curious about me, and even more interested in Stellar.

Two of them had a standoff over an old tumbleweed. The black horse started nibbling at it, then the palomino vibed her off of it, picked it up, and brought it to me. He seemed almost as though it were stuck in his mouth, and so I gently extricated it from his grip, then carried it home when I left, to my garbage can. There were still plenty of viable seeds on it that I didn’t want horse antics to scatter around. These noxious weeds are splendidly adapted to rolling long distances in the wind dispersing seeds as they go. Why those poor horses were arguing over a desiccated, thorny mouthful is beyond me, but I was grateful to have it handed to me to dispose of.

Sometimes I get to pet a soft nose, or as I did this morning scratch this guy’s big forehead; he stood still and let me after I took the tumbleweed out of his mouth. More often, I simply stand in wonder in the presence of a thoroughly different sentient being. I don’t know much about them, but I understand the allure. I always thought I’d end up with a couple, but it didn’t turn out that way. I have some cowgirl friends who spend as much time as they can with their horses, but I get my horse fix only occasionally, in the right place at the right time, and so I’m grateful for next door horses.