My Little Pony

I've officially been a horse owner for just over three weeks now, though I started getting to know Cimba in the beginning of June.  I spent about a week riding him, to see if we could bond.  I needed to like him, but, just as importantly, he needed to like me too.  It didn't take me long to decide that there was something between us, that special bond between a girl and her pony, a life-long dream come true. 

I've really enjoyed owning a horse, which I anticipated, or otherwise I would have never taken this large step.  But what has surprised me (besides how LITTLE I know about owning a horse), is just how amazing it is.  I know my capacity to love, so it hasn't surprised me how much I love Cimba.  When I adopt an animal, be it 10 pounds or 1000, it's forever.  Cimba is my son, until the end.  What's been truly amazing is how much he loves me.

I am Cimba's third owner (or maybe fourth? He might have had a trainer prior to his first owner).  One a little girl, one a teenager, and now, me.  Horses do recognize and bond with their owners, and I had been warned that Cimba might be a little "gun shy," having loved and lost before.  I made it a point early on to talk to him, to let him know that once he was mine, he was mine forever.  I knew that I needed to earn his trust, to treat him with love and respect.

And it's paid off.  Cimba knickers when I come by.  He recognizes me and acts excited that I'm there.  He also is exhibiting signs of ownership over me.  Earlier this week, while visiting him in his stall, I walked away for a moment to pet another horse and donkey, who were vying for my attention.  I suddenly heard a loud "bang," a horse kicking the wall of a stall, and I turned around to see my little horse standing as tall as he could against the wall of his stall, with his head as far out the window as possible.  With nostrils flared, and annoyance in his eyes, I knew then that my horse was jealous that I was petting another horse, and not him.  I was, in his eyes, officially his Mom.

What an amazing journey we two have ahead of us.