Soft nostrils and warm hay breath…

… is what I miss about the days I owned my own horse. Last thing at night, I would open the back door and – lucky to have stables so close – I would hear the familiar deep throaty yet soft noise he would emit at my approach. Yes I would be about to tie his night-time haynet to the ring on the wall and all animals love food, but he loved my company too.

His bottom lip would hang a little lower than the top and he would nuzzle me until I tickled it and gently pushed it away from his teeth. His eyes would flicker closed and if I stopped, he would nudge me to do it again.

Communication between an animal and their owner is a special, often silent bond. Here’s my boy ….

He was the perfect horse from which to lead a child on a pony in those early days before my daughter felt confident to be ‘loose’ and we did a lot of sponsored rides and had a lot of fun.

He was also so very safe ‘on the ground’ as it were, by which I mean to handle in and out of the stable. My children could lead him from the field and he would not take advantage of their small size. My son, now 6’4″ and 17 years old was fond of him also.

Meet Anne Leueen.

I follow her blog and her adventures with her gorgeous dressage horse and it’s a treat to hear about another human/animal bond 🌸