The Mad Medicine Hat with Hanna Mom and Marie Calendars (Past)

"I don't want an old plug mom, I want a horse with fire in it, I want a challenge." I said with a sassy cock of my head. "Twilight won't even canter, there is hardly a spark in her."
She couldn't argue with me there, Twilight was tired and ornery.
"Plus, I think I want a gelding. Oh mom looook loook at this one!"
After the dust had settled from the trauma, I couldn't help but get excited about the prospect of buying a horse. I was a kid in a candy shop, everything I saw on craigslist looked delicious.
"He's a chestnut, only three but well trained, look at the field he is in mom, oh his beautiful and his names Leo, but his in Oregon."
Mom shook her head at me.
"He is in my budget." I persuaded. I had about two thousand dollars saved in my bank account, I'd been saving up since I was four years old, when I started riding.

Now I was fifteen, eleven years had past, and I felt like I was truly ready.
"How far away?" she asked,

"Three hours, round trip. . ."

"No"

My eyes scanned the web pages, "Oh look mom, here is a Persian Arabian, he is grey just like Pudgy was, that Arabian I rode when I was little.. . oh but I can't afford him."

I had already established with my parents that I wanted to purchase my own horse. 

Pride had stopped my father from admitting to me that he could not afford to buy a horse for me. My mother had come to me instead and told me they could no afford to buy one, not with this economy, not with my dad's business in the state it was in. 

"Its alright," I'd told them, "I don't want you to buy a horse for me, I want it to be my own, and they only way it will be my own is if I buy it, otherwise its more like your horse than mine."

They didn't understand, my dad thought I may be putting up a brave face for what he felt like were his short comings.

I had two reasons for wanting to buy my own horse, one I never shared with my parents. I was still afraid of the control they'd had over me, when they had uprooted me from school, from riding, from my life, and sent me away. I didn't want them to be able to drag me away from my passions again, and I figured if I owned my horse, bought it with my own money, they would have no right to take it away from me.

I told them my second reason.

"Its not like that at all. Gretchen told me about when she found her first horse, a thoroughbred on the race track. I think his name was Chico, she knew he was her horse as soon as she saw him. He was not for sale, but, she didn't care, she went right up to the owner and said "If you ever retire him from the race track, or if he can't race any more, tell me because I want him." She was there when they castrated him, held his head, let him bite her in anger, and still she loved him, he kicked at her when she applied disinfectant to his wounds, and she still adored that horse. And when he was injured and could no longer make a profit as a race horse, she took him from the track. When Gretchen told me this story she said her daughter still had Chico out in California. When I find my horse, when I feel that connection, I want to be able to stand up on my own two feet, and buy that horse."

I know it sounded like a proposal, and in a way it was, horses can live thirty years, I met a mare in Hawaii that was 32 and looked like she had become part of the forest  with moss growing in her spider web white mane. Its a commitment for at least a third of a long life time.
I looked through numerous paints, western pleasure horses, but I wanted an English horse, or a horse that had potential for it.
I found a dark red mare named Scarlet who was in my price range but her owner never called me back.
One day I saw an advertisement for a medicine hat filly, my heart skipped a beat.
I'd grown up feeding on ice cream, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and good wholesome horse fiction. The story of San Domingo The Medicine Hat Stallion one of Marguerite Henry's many horse stories is among one of my personal favorites.The legend that goes with a medicine hat horse, is that they are a sacred horse that will die for their owner, and build a bond with only one person. And now I had a chance to go look at one, possibly own one.
She was young, only three years old, but she'd been started and was coming along well according to the advertisement.
"This could be the one!" I said shrilly to my mother.
Naturally because of the potential of this being a momentous occasion, I wanted to have someone there with me, someone who could help me be level headed, but also share my excitement. So I made a phone call.
"Hey Hanna, are you free next Saturday? Great! Do you want to come see this Medicine hat filly I'm going to go look at with my mother? Fantastic will pick you up around three."
The afternoon did not start off promising, dark rain clouds rolled in bringing a howling wind with it. Autumn leaves and rain thrashed at the windshield of our car.
"I don't think its happening today." Mom said reluctantly.
"No please!" I begged, "lets try and wait it out a bit."
We postponed are meeting with the owner for an hour, and then since the rain stopped, but the clouds still held we decided to chance it. The entire drive out Hanna and I were on the look out for any sliver of blue sky, there was none.
The barn the Medicine hat was at was small but a classic red barn with double doors. She was out back in a large spacious pasture with nooks and crannies, rolling hills, long silvery grass and twisted scrub oak. Hanna, the owner and myself trudged out into the pasture and watched the dainty mare come galloping over a hill with a small herd of other horses. I don't remember what they looked like, I only had eyes for this mare. She was tall and slender, with perfect markings that were well defined between clay brown and white. She even had a bulls eye around one of her crystal blue eyes.
Hanna frowned at me, "Blue eyed horses are bad luck, I don't like them." she said matter-o-factly.
"I think there gorgeous." I retorted.
Gretchen had helped me make a list of things I should ask the owners, since I was new to the market and green behind the ears.  Health records, if the horse loads, papers, pedigree, proof of ownership, any records of work with certain trainers, how they were for the farrier, for a bath, how long had the owner had the horse, how long since the horse had been ridden, how far along was she into her training, any bad habits such as cribbing, bucking, shying etc. . .
"A horse that cribs is a horse not worth buying," Gretchen told me, "Its a hard habit to break, and causes all sorts of health issues."
Following her advice I had avoided a black gelding I saw for sell who seemed perfect till the owner confessed his single vice.
The Medicine Hat filly didn't seem to have any of these issues.
The final piece of advice Gretchen gave me was to have the owner ride the horse first. So I told the rather burly woman that I wanted to see her work with her horse first. That was when things started to fall apart, the mare shied away from the saddle, and when the woman mounted her in the round pen she took the mare through her gaits she suddenly stopped tossed her head and reared straight into the air.
I made eye contact with Hanna, who looked right back at me, and then we both looked at my mother, all three of us were decided, we were not interested in proceeding further.
The woman was in tears, and mumbled something about not get out to ride her enough. I patted her on the shoulder as we left.
"I told you blue eyed horses are bad luck!" Hanna said.
Mother consoled us both by taking us for a warm delicious meal at Marie Calendars.

The next horse my mother and I went and saw by ourselves. She was a beautiful black mare named Mikea, ten years old, with papers. She was a National Show horse (half Arabian half saddlebred) well trained and only 15 hundred dollars, to good to be true.
I talked with her owner on the phone, a girl who was going off to college and simply didn't have time for her anymore. "Trained her myself." she told me proudly.
We went out to the barn and met the girl's father and her. Mikea was already saddle, her mane tossed to one side, neck arched beautifully against the sky. "Oh mom she's gorgeous!" I squealed.
"Don't let them see how excited you are," she cautioned, but she was smiling to, both of us were quite taken with this mare.
We watched the girl ride. She swung on to Mikea's back and the mare went immediately into a trot, this was one hot horse. The girl rode her through water and into a flawless canter.
"Now I did do some gaming with her," the girl mentioned, "if she sees barrels she's going to do them, and there is not much you can do to stop her." She pulled Mikea into a sliding stop.
"Want to have a go?" she asked.
I was trembling as I got on, and the horse new it. She took off with me, into a gallop I couldn't pull her out of. I didn't know what to do to slow her down. I was afraid of this horse.
"I don't know how to ride her." I admitted.
We talked it over for a bit, the college student was willing to give me lessons on how to ride this horse, mother encouraged me to take the offer, but I was scared stiff I didn't want Mikea as my own.
I don't even know what really happened that day, I don't know why I froze on that horse's back, but I knew she was not for me. Clearly I try not to dwell on it to much.
So what horse was? Was I honestly going to exchange one deranged horse for another?
"Well you said you wanted a horse with some spark." Mom reminded me as we drove away.
"That was an inferno."

Sisyphus (Story from the Past)

Twilight was healing, her leg was getting better by the day, twice a day I went up to see her, twice a day we had to work together, she had to trust me and I had to trust her. There was now a sliver of affection when I called her "Old Nag." I brought her treats, apples and baby carrots. I'd sit on the tack room bench eating fig newtons while listening to her munch on hay.
School had started up again which meant I saw Gretchen less than usual. Over the summer I had helped her as a Vet tech assistant at a small clinic. I walked puppies, washed dirty blankets. Helped out with a surgery with a cat who had an abscess on his skull (I passed out after the second tube ((used to drain out puss)) was put through the cat's thick skin). I cleaned out the vet's horse's water trough. I felt as though Gretchen and I were family, we would spend a good part of the day at the clinic then she, Derek, her big clumsy great Dane and I would load into her car and go up to the barn.
One time when we got there I found some baby birds that had fallen into the hay and Gretchen and I drove all the way back down the mountain to leave them at a vet clinic.
I was taking on more responsibilities at the barn, since Gretchen and Resa's budget was becoming strained. I would go up on certain days and feed all the horses and clean out the stalls and pens of manure.

Mark was slowly becoming ill, due to his age. So we took turns watching him and making sure he had all the alfalfa he could possibly eat. He even got his own paddock to himself. It was heart breaking to watch the old scholar slowly become frail, but it was even harder to watch Gretchen. She could not accept that age was taking him from her, she did countless blood test, and was threatening to have the vet come up about every other week to take a look at him, even though we all knew she couldn't afford it. When ever I came up to the barn and saw him laying down, I'd hold my breath and run out and check on him to make sure he was still breathing.
Elfie left us, with the end of summer her owner had come and collected her. Gretchen and Resa needed more income so Gretchen started given more lessons, even though now she only had one school horse, Adam.  Sarah's friend Daren started boarding her horse at the barn, a petite Arabian mare named Barbie. Sarah and I were drifting apart, she and I had not been trail riding for a while, something always seemed to pop up last minute, or Sarah was spending time with her boyfriend. But now with Daren at the barn I was sure I'd see more of her, and I was right. She called to ask me to come on a trail ride with Daren and herself as soon as Twilight was sound.
Once Gretchen gave me the clear Twilight and I saddled up for our first ride in a month. I was tickled to be riding with two other girls on the trail, but as we wandered down the hill towards the gate to the cow pens, I began to realize a new circle had been woven, and I was not in it. Sarah tried to include me, but she and Daren just had so much in common, that it was difficult. They shared stories of cantering through the mountain pasture bare back on their mares, something I couldn't do because I was not skilled enough, and Twilight wouldn't canter.
I was bitter about us growing apart, I remember Sarah envying me for being the courageous one, the first to canter bareback on Sting so many summers ago. Where had the time gone? Daren chattered about the bond she had with Barbie and Sarah quickly joined in with the story of how she found Penelope after riding three horses. "Something just clicked, and I new she was the one!" Sarah beamed. "I'm really excited soon we are going to start jumper training!" she added.
We reached the cow pen and as usual the beast rushed at us in a mad frenzy, one cow in the back of the herd hobbled after the rest, his front leg swollen with pus. "Oh that poor cow!" Sarah cried.
I knew that kind of wound, I had seen it on a cat just a few weeks ago, "He's got an abscess." I said.
Silents followed, "Is she like really smart or something?" Daren asked pronouncing 'smart' as though the word had spoiled on her tongue.
"Yeah!" Sarah had said shaking her head at me, beautiful hair bouncing round her freckled face. It was then that I noticed that both girls had immaculate manicured nails, eyeshadow accenting their thick black lashes, lip gloss shimmering on pursed lips. I realized something had changed, Sarah had grown up, she had reached adult hood, while I was still in Never land.I was not polished, a hair doo for me was a pony tail, makeup even if I had wanted to wear it would of made my acne covered face even more blotchy. Social life was not as important to me a grades.
 I wanted desperately to go back to our vigilante games in the hills, but obviously that path had closed forever. Not only that, but she and Daren were part of a club, they owned their own horses, I didn't know what that was likes I didn't know the feeling one felt when they saw a horse perk their ears in the pasture and to know that that horse was perking their ears just for that person. What was it like to see a horse and say the intimate word 'mine.'
I was falling down a hill, I'd lost my purchase, tumbling away from Sarah was only the start.
In the end it really didn't matter, Penelope went away for jump training, so Sarah couldn't ride anyways, she wasn't interested in Carita or Lacaro. So she just went and spent more time with her boyfriend.
Daren lost interest in horses, and ended up selling Barbie.
Eventually Penelope came back, but the farrier shooed her wrong and she became lame in her front two hooves and to wear special rubber encased shoes for three months before she could be ridden again, but by then I would already be gone.

It was raining, but that wasn't going to stop Gretchen, Resa, or me from going up to the barn. Resa's trainer was coming all the way from Sun Valley to work with her and Carita.
Gretchen and I sat huddled on camp chair as the rain came down in sheets, and the world was covered with a layer of steel and cold. We bundled in rain slickers, worked our toes in our boots and fingers in our gloves to stop them from freezing, but still Mary road, undeterred by the rain, smiling and talking optimistically about the intelligent red mare, and chiding Resa for not riding her enough. I liked Mary, she was a wiry woman, and tough, but happy.
She talked to me while watching Resa ride, her eyes never leaving them, even though she was conversing with me. "I have a track at my stable," she said. "When I was working with Navarre I'd take him out and let him run, he loved it!" she said.
"I didn't know you worked with Navarre," I said, glancing at Gretchen who frowned to herself.
"Oh yes," Mary said, "Now I've got his son Noah, and his such a bright boy I like him."
Gretchen inquired about Noah, and it was not hard to see how protective she was of him, and how much she wanted him back.
I briefly wondered, if she would ever consider letting me have Mateo, but the thought quickly fluttered away.
"You know," Mary said turning back to me, "In the summer time I give one student the opportunity to come train with me. You would live in a trailer out back, and work with the horses and me every day. Of course I'd allow you to bring your own horse with you. Gretchen seems to think that you would like such an opportunity."
I turned to Gretchen speechless, I didn't know she though so highly of me.
"Gosh I'd love to!" I said
"You could take the mare," Resa said, riding over to us.
"Twilight? Why?" I asked.

I remember it was night, we'd just finished cleaning, up the stalls and feeding, and the tension was nearly tangible. It seemed to crackle in the air. Gretchen was silent, and Resa's mouth was firm. We had gone to the tack room and Resa yanked open the fridge and grabbed the box of fig newtons. "Cookie" she offered coldly, "No thanks." I wasn't sure where this was going.
Gretchen spoke first. "Gabbie we've had Twilight over 3 months now, and the cost of keeping her is getting to be to much. The dentist has not paid me a cent for her feed or board."
"We saved that horse for you," Resa butted in, "There have been several opportunities where we could of had other people ride her but we saved her for you."
"I never asked for you to!" I snapped suddenly feeling like an animal trapped in a corner, suddenly seeing where this conversation was going.
"I never said I wanted her, I never said I would own her." I added.
Gretchen suddenly looked crush, I hadn't realized it was her plan from the start that I would own Twilight, that she had picked us out to be a pair from the beginning, though I should have seen the signs.
"What about me, Gabbie? I've put so much work into her, who's going to reimburse me. She has potential, she could be a great horse, I'd even contemplated keeping her as a school horse if I didn't think you'd want her."
The furious part of my mind screamed oh yeah like you could turn Twilight into a school horse, she doesn't even canter. You can't even get her to canter.
"Why do you think we only has you ride her?" Resa asked incredulously. "Why do you think we had you name her, take care of her?We need the money for all the work that's gone into that mare, and she's been practically your horse."
"You think this economy has been easy on my family?" I said, "I never asked for any of this."
"Oh you think this economies been easy on us!" Resa said. "My husbands rel estate business has not been doing well either, and we've invested a lot into the horse riding business to!"
"Regardless, Twilight is not my horse, neither of you asked me if I ever even wanted her, and I can't believe you've waited till now to corner me, a girl against two women and try to railroad me into this!"
"Its okay!" Gretchen said, her voice rising and creeping on the edge of tears, "I have another rider, her name is Claire, I could easily sell Twilight to her."
I don't know why but that felt like a cold slap to the face, it was like Gretchen had given up on me in that instant, moved her devotions onward to Claire. I'd seen Claire ride Adam, she was good, she was very good, a little timid but that could change. She was pretty to, angelic in appearance, golden perfect curls and light blue eyes, on thin creamy skin. 
"Claire did say she was in the market." Gretchen added.

"What if I don't want Twilight, what if I want Mateo?" I shot at her, and I knew that wound hurt, I knew then that Gretchen wouldn't give up Mateo, he was part of Navarre's legacy, the only part she had currently, and he was now a treasure she would never ever let go.
I was now on a role, "I don't even know if Twilight is healed all the way yet, I was reading up on puncture wounds and I read that some wounds near the joint will make a horse lame for life! I don't want my first horse to be unridable."
"That's another thing," Gretchen suddenly burst, "That hurt the most, why don't you trust. You don't trust what I told you about Twilight, about treating her wound, you go behind my back and add different treatments."
"Is it a crime to do a little research! I just wanted to learn what was going on with her!" I snapped. We were all on the verge of tears now. This was an issue of trust, of harbored emotions but more than anything, this was finances, money was tearing us apart, the worries of not having enough to get by. The economy had just started its downward spiral and everyone was feeling it. My parent's had done their best during my life to shelter me from economy, from our status as people of wealth versus some of my not so fortunate friends. But even my horse back riding lessons were straining our ever shrinking budget, suddenly two lessons a week was a luxury we could not afford, and I began to see and understand of our standard of living, of the state of the economy, of the adult world.
My parents were furious that Resa and Gretchen had cornered me, my mother went and screamed at them, and they screamed back at her, then my dad went in a settled the situation, or reduced the boiling tempers of three tearful, upset women as much as he could.
He and I sat in the truck looking at the barn. "Do you want her?" he finally asked, after we'd sat in silence for a while. "I don't know!" I cried, "I honestly don't know. She's not what I pictured my first horse to be, I love Mateo more than I love Twilight, but I don't want her to go back to Chad (the dentist) I couldn't live with myself if they sent her back to that Hell because they can't afford to keep her." I sobbed.
"They won't send her back to the dentist," Dad tried to sooth me, but I was inconsolable.
"And I don't want to loose Gretchen dad, she my friend, she's like family to me, I know mom thinks she's a flake, but I don't know what I would do without her, without Adam, without Mateo, if I say no to Twilight what if I loose them forever? I can't live with that they are my key to the horse world. They are the keys to my sanity, the only reason I'm not still in UNI right now is because of these horses!" It was a hard subject to breech, but it was true, my sanity was dangling in the balance.
After I'd had a good cry, and my breath was still hitching I said, "I want a chance to look around, see what else is out there, on the market. If they sell her why I'm looking fine, then we weren't meant to be."
Dad went back into the tack room and talked to Resa and Gretchen for a bit, they all calmed down enough to agree that what they all wanted was what was important for me to be happy. I had a month to decide, my parents would pay the board for that month while I looked to see what I wanted.
But I was now troubled, I'd been looking at horse advertisements in the paper ever since I was old enough to read, I was constantly browsing classifieds Mustangs, Arabians, Quarter Horses juicy, tantalising ads for my dream horse. Any horse I rode I could picture as my own, Miss Ali, Sting, Adam, and Mark I could have seen myself owning any of them at one point or another, but never with Twilight. Never with this worn out cranky horse who looked so old, so tired with life, but suddenly she was on the edge of being taken away from me. And the horse I thought I had no feelings for was now a heavy weight in my mind, something I wasn't sure if I was willing to loose.
Now my dream of owning a horse, something I'd waited for my whole life had to be condensed into a month of searching, of racing time of stress, of fighting a battle I was sure I had already lost.

English vs. Western

The rivalry of Capulet Montague proportions which type of riding do I prefer, English or Western? I have to say I prefer English. However, for long trail rides into the desert I like the security and storage of the Western saddle.

Planning

Today I went out to the barn earlier than usual (10:00) it was nice and cool.
Baily a black Labrador came up to me as soon as I pulled in, limping on three paws. Baily is technically Tish's dog, but she lives out at the barn, so she has sort of become every one's pet.
 She had a goat head in her pad, which she let me take out. She's a timid dog and I never knows if she is going to flee or come padding up to me.
David was out riding and he thanked me for taking the weed out of her foot, which caught me off guard, first because I didn't know he was watching, and second because I was pretty sure anyone would have done the same.
   I didn't bother with the English saddle, I just decided to ride bareback again, it went well. Its more of a challenge riding bareback, and I like being able to feel Twilight respond to my cues instantly.

After riding bareback for a bit I went and dragged out my western saddle.
Its an old saddle, I received it as a generous Christmas present from my employers, the Borens, two years ago. I love it, I had to replace the girth with a more modern rubber lined on, and the ties that held the stirrups to the stirrup leather and fender were frayed and broken so I found a pair of pine green forest shoe laces to replace them.  Needless to say adjusting the stirrup length is an arduous process.
Hanna was the last person to ride in the saddle, and she is taller than I am, so I  had to shorten the stirrups twice before they fit my legs properly again.
  The space between the pommel and cantle was a snug fit, and I had to shift around a bit before I could sit comfortably in it. I know I looked ridiculous when I asked Twilight to canter, but I was secretly pleased, she did not spook at the two saddle bags gently slapping against her back.
  I want to take pictures before I go away to college of all the places Margrith and I went trail riding. Its going to be a challenge and a long ride. I'll need water, food, and my camera and phone, plus some treats and safety precautions for Twilight and myself, but I'm confident. A little more planning and we will be able to head out. Wish me luck!

Bareback Ride

I don't know why but today I was desperate to get away. I wanted to be anywhere but here, I was thinking of packing up the car and going for a day trip somewhere maybe a small near by town, someplace where I could wander around pointlessly, or hike into the back country.
  Instead I went out to the horse. Twilight was a fidgety mess, dancing away from me, spooking at little wind flurries. Refusing to stand still.
I felt tired, almost sick with a longing to just feel a release from the tight metal cord knotted in my gut. I saddled up and we rode and rode, in the arena of course, even though I could look out and see the trail, see a potential escape. There was not a cloud in the sky, and the wind was keeping the temperature cool. But to go out alone was suicide, and there was no one around to go with me.
The entire ride was I fight, me in the saddle, sinking into the hot faux leather, milking the reins, Twilight pulling the bit and over reacting to everything. We were mechanical, jerky, irritated and simply not enjoying ourselves. Even cantering, which usually gives me so much pleasure was a strain, fighting for control, for the perfect showman look, trying to wrestle into perfection.
Finally I had it, something in my mind just snapped and a voice in my head started to yell at me By god, your 18, your going into college. What the Hell are you doing? Not having fun riding with a saddle and spurs and working your horse today? Well its Summer isn't it?! Can't have a little fun? Little miss ridged. Whose rules are you following? Your in charge idiot. If you want to do something fun change things up a bit!!!!

So I rode Twilight back to the trailer, dumped the spurs and English saddle and threw on the bareback pad. I went back to the arena. Of course now Kade one of the showman instructors was there, a master of perfect show riding, but I realized I really didn't care. I asked for the canter, and Twilight leaped into it, at first it was not collected, we were all over the place, taking turns to tight, dropping shoulders. But then we leveled out, and I felt like I was laughing inside. I could feel Twilight moving under me, the glorious three beat canter rocking my body, and Twilight not fighting me for the bit but a connection between my hands and her mouth that kept us both in check. She was going faster than was proper, but I wasn't really going for showmanship, the English saddle was gone, so primeness could go out the window with it.  We were riding to have fun.
Around and around we cantered, and I began to have the feeling of freedom that I use to have on the trail. It felt great. I felt connected to my horse, I felt reconnected to myself.
The day just improved, an older man with a steel brown head of hair and beard, who sounded like Jeff Bridges as Marshal Rooster Cogburn from True Grit came out to give his two grandson's rides on his round Kiger mustang mare.
I caught Bob the fat goat sleeping under the trailer.
I laughed as Twilight discovered her reflection on the side of the metal trailer next to us, watched her flick her tail bemused at the creature cocking its head back at her.
When I gave Twilight her bath, she flicked her wet tail at me and sprayed me with a pleasant shower of cold water droplets. 
Sometimes the easiest way to unwind is to strip away the complex things and get down to the purpose, what matters, just take away the show and technicalities and go for a bareback ride.

The Failed Ride (Another Story from the Past)

A girl finds her best friends through horses I think, or a great majority of them anyways. The topic of horses is an addictive adhesive it sticks in the mind and feels so sweet on the tongue that we females just can't stop talking about our infatuation with horses.

  One of my best friends a girl named Hanna and I just seemed to like each other from the start. We met in school part way through the year and just clicked, we made an odd pair for sure one of us tall  and blond, the other shorter dark complected and bespectacled, but when it came to minds we were the same. Both of us were horse crazy.
  We had ridden together up at Hanna's cabin on her neighbor's horses, Hanna rode a spirited chestnut named Chico and I rode a gentle grey named Sal, and once at one of my birthday parties.

 And now I wanted to take her riding again, but this time it would be special, in my "horse territory" on trails that I knew from riding so much with Sarah, and with a horse who was increasingly becoming the main subject of my horse talk with Hanna, Twilight. I wanted her opinion of the horse that I was sure at the time was old, tired, stubborn, and crazy.
  It was arranged that Hanna would ride Elfie the western buckskin, since Elfie was nearly bullet proof and also the only horse available who was a true western pleasure horse, since Hanna preferred western to English, and I would ride the unpredictable Twilight.
  We arrived at Bishops fairly early in the morning, and in a rush, for what ever reason I cannot remember. We went out to the large mountain pasture and collected our respective horses and took them into the stalls to groom them. Something was off, but neither of us could place it. Gretchen was there and was hovering nervously about, wanting to make sure nothing bad happened to Hanna, and Twilight was fidgety.
 I brushed Twilight quickly, without really paying attention to what I was doing, happily chatting with Hanna about all the places and trails to explore on our ride. She and Elfie were getting along wonderfully, and Hanna and I were giggling and tingling with excitement.
   Suddenly Gretchen voice, unusually sharp and stern cut through our revelry. "Gabbi, look at Twilight's leg! You can't ride her."
   Silence dispersed through the barn like dust. I looked down at Twilight's legs, and noticed her knee on the left leg was horribly swollen, and when I bent down and lightly ran my fingers over her skin, it was tender and hot with infection.
The ride wasn't happening, there were no other horses in the barn that were trail savvy that I could ride. I apologized to Hanna and she was taken home.
Now I had to deal with Twilight. "We need to soak her leg, with high pressure water." Gretchen said. But neither of us did anything right away, we were just staring at that leg, Twilight  kept tossing her head and dancing slightly on her toes.
"How did this happen?" I croaked
"She probably impaled herself somehow on the barbwire," Gretchen replied bitterly. Barbwire was snarled into the fence along several portions of the mountain pasture, there was no way to get rid of it.
"So how are we going to do this?" I asked, I had tried giving Twilight a bath before, and she had trembled and finally snapped her tie when she could not stand being under the stream of water. Her bath had lasted only about three minutes.
"Start by spraying the water near her hooves, then work your way up her leg," Gretchen instructed, her warm brown mouth trapped in a frown. "You are going to have to come up and soak it at least twice a day, we need to flush the infection out, and reduce the inflammation."
I agreed without question, I felt guilty, I should have noticed the wound as soon as we brought Twilight in from the pasture. Gretchen held her lead rope, while went and turned on the water pump and walked back over to Twilight with the hose, she tossed her head up, and looked at me with one eye, the white rims around the edges bulging.
"Easy girl." I coaxed.
She danced in place a bit, but she let me spray her hot leg with the cold water, we soaked it for about ten minutes before turning her out again. Gretchen did not want her out in the large pasture with this injury, so we kept her in the paddock next to the pasture with Penelope. Mateo was outraged of course, but it was high time he and Twilight were given a little space from each other, plus we all knew that watchful wise Adam would keep and eye on the fiery colt.
When I got home, I immediately started researching barbwire wounds on the Internet, I discovered that Twilight's particular wound was called a puncture wound, and that in order to reduce the swelling and prevent the wound from abscessing it had to be kept open with peroxide and soap and warm water. I also discovered the wound should be rubbed down to try and help with drainage. I added my treatment to the one Gretchen had already suggested.
The more I researched, the more worried I became, some horses are made lame by puncture wounds, they have a hard time transitioning from their gaits, and are constantly bother by their legs.
This was Twilight's first major injury since being in my care, and I was worried sick. I remembered when Sarah first bought Penelope, how protective she'd been for her horse. The first accident Sarah had with Penelope was walking her out of the barn from her stall. It had happened so quickly, they turned out of the stall and onto the cement floor of the barn and Penelope's hooves lost their purchase, she fell down, back legs first followed by her massive half Shire body. Her back legs slid under the hay trailer and banged against the axle. And then she scrambled for her feet, large hooves clanging in frightened desperation, before she hauled her body back up.
Sarah was trembling as she checked her horse over cursing softly to herself, her face was pale and her eyes flickered constantly over Penelope, for a week she walked around Penelope as if she were on fragile ground, afraid of breaking the over one ton wonder.
What would Sarah of done if Penelope was hurt beyond repair? What would I do with Twilight if she was beyond healing. Could I live with my first horse being an un-ridable lame one? That was probably the biggest shock of the day, for the first time ever I was actually considering Twilight as possibly being my own.