Field Trip

Today Rebecca and I had the pleasure of accompanying Emma on a field trip to a local Saddlebred horse farm. All of the kids seemed to enjoy the outing, seeing all the pretty horses, going on a hay ride and learning about how horses are cared for. When it came time to groom one of the little ponies, Rebecca was in horse heaven! She just has a natural affinity for caring for things, whether it's her little babies or a horse - she just likes caring for them. Amanda told me that Rebecca was like that since she was really little. It just amazes me how natural she is with the horses and how she just took to them from the first time she was around one. You would think they would have scared her, at least initially - but no, she loves them!

As good a time as the girls had though, I couldn't help but be a little sad being in that environment because it reminds me so much of my dad. He had a true love for horses and I can only imagine how much he would have enjoyed seeing his newest granddaughter telling me as we passed each stall "I lika dat horse".



Emma & her classmates ... who are so kind to let Rebecca accompany them on their fieldtrips!

The owner of the farm told me that when the little kids first arrived that they were throwing the straw around but that Rebecca went over to a bail of hay, pulled out a straw and fed it to the pony. He said he told the guys there with him that she was the smartest one there :-) Of course that tickled the daylights out of me. But really, how did she know to do that?

This guy lives with the retired horses. Seeing him reminded me of a funny Emma story. We used to see a donkey in a pasture on the way to school and church and Ryan made reference one day to the "donkey" and Emma corrected him and said that no, that wasn't a donkey - it was a "horse with bunny ears". Hmm, now I guess that's a good way to describe those peculiar animals.

The mane on this one reminded me of Emma's hair when we first got her - it stuck straight up and everyone wanted to pat her on her little fuzzy head!

Ahhh - heaven on earth. Next to the smell of a freshly bathed and lotioned baby, this is my favorite smell and touch in the world. The soft nose of a horse!

May I never, ever take for granted the beauty here in Kentucky.