Riding Through Life

In the spirit of Valentines day (yes, I know Valentines day was two days ago, but I like to make my own rules), I decided I do a little post on 14 things I love about Lucy.  So, in no particular order…

♥  Her intelligence.  Plain and simple, she is the smartest beast I’ve ever met.  Not only does she fully understand English, I think she could also understand French if I was fluent in it.

♥  Her confidence.  It goes hand in hand with her intelligence.  She is confident because she uses her brain.  She doesn’t make a monster out of a bucket (cough cough, hint hint…Caramel) and thinks before she reacts to anything unknown.

♥  Her facial expressions.  She cracks me up.  Whether it’s her itchy face, her anticipation face, her I’d-like-another-treat face, her why-isn’t-this-stock-tank-open face, her it’s-way-too-early-to-be-awake face, or her life-is-good face.  The list could go on forever.  And I love every single one of them.

♥  Her big yawns.  I’ve never quite seen a horse yawn like she does.  I especially like the ones where she sticks her tongue way out and throws her head way up in the air.

♥  Her lazy tendencies.  While many would find it frustrating, I like having to give some leg to get her to move out or to have to convince her while lunging to move any faster than a snail’s pace walk.

♥  Her good looks.  Back when we first got her, I would have never guessed I’d be saying that.  But it’s true.  I love her long head, her soft eyes, her nicely shaped butt, her blonde forelock and mane, just everything.  I’ve even come to like her color.  She’s just a natural beauty.

♥  Her personal hygeine habits.  She keeps her stall so tidy.  Poop in one corner, pee in the other.  And she would NEVER lay down in her poop (again, take a hint here, Caramel).  And outside, she either poops in her designated poop piles in the pasture or in the lean-to, keeping the rest of her living areas clean and pleasant.  As for rolling, she only rolls when necessary and tries to avoid the mud which makes her much more enjoyable to groom.

♥  Her swagger.  This is what I call the way she walks.  She doesn’t just saunter to her destination.  She walks with attitude and purpose with a swing to her step that is only Lucy.  It’s so lead mare.

♥  Her deep sigh.  Anytime she needs to bring her energy down, Lucy always does a big, deep sigh and let’s it all out.  It’s relaxing just listening to it.

♥  Her itchy spots.  Oh the satisfaction when I can hit an itch.  For both of us.  It just gives me the warm fuzzies.

♥  Her nose flip when she’s hungry.  If Lucy is waiting for her breakfast (relatively impatiently), she likes to do this little nose/head flip.  I used to find it annoying and disrespectful until I put the pieces together (with Mom’s help).   She’s not just being bossy, that’s how she hurries Caramel along out in pasture so why wouldn’t it work on me too?  With that new perspective, whenever she does it it puts a smile on my face.

♥ Her stretches.  She curls her back up like a cat, then down into a bow position, and then usually sticks one of her back legs out as far and as straight as possible.  And these aren’t done just in the morning but also after a good afternoon nap.  Everybody knows how satisfying a good stretch is and just watching her stretch gives me some of those same good feelings.

♥  Her innate desire to nose anything in front of her.  I just love the dominance it portrays.  It warms my heart.  Really, it does.  Plus, if she’s had the chance to take it out on something/somebody already, she’s less likely to try to pull those things on me.  And that is very good thing.

♥  And last, but not at all least, her kisses.  Every horse gives good kisses, but Lucy’s are over the top.  That soft, warm muzzle of hers has a little snip right in the middle just perfect for kissing.  I can’t resist, I just have to plant a kiss there whenever I see it.  It makes everything right in the world again.

And that’s just scratching the surface.  Every day I discover something new I love about Lucy.  By next year I should have a whole new list of 14 things that make my heart go pitter-patter about my lovely beast.