What Lies Ahead

\"\"

It\’s a new dawn, it\’s a new day… it\’s a new sundog. And I thought the sundogs I posted on December 14 were impressive!

I hope you all had wonderful Christmases. Clay and I are back from a marvelous four days spent with our families in Alberta. But as I sit and watch the early morning feeding taking place outside and the colts play in the snowbanks, I can\’t help but feel slightly melancholy this morning. On one hand, it was very hard to leave my mother and my sister and return to our home in a new province. On the other hand however, there is lots to look forward to in Saskatchewan these days. Here is my pensive list of some of the things I am excited about as the dawn of a new year comes upon us:

\"\"

1. Today is the first day of a new beginning for the yearlings. Today, Clay will build a round pen in the indoor arena and bring our two yearling fillies and two yearling colts, into the barn to begin their training. Having foaled out and raised many of the yearlings ourselves, it\’s always awesome to watch them grow into young adult horses and finally progress into finely tuned mounts under saddle.

2. Of course, that doesn\’t happen in only one day but watching the rides from Point A to Point B – from the first saddling, to the first ride, to the first time in a show pen – is an amazing spectacle to behold. I think that may be because equines truly are like musical masterpieces. The creation of one is God’s work. The training of one is akin to watching a symphony evolve from dust on ivory piano keys. So many things have to come together: time, patience and practice. I\’ll have my camera ready!

\"\"

3. Tomorrow is the anticipated arrival of my father in Regina, who previously was living in Denmark and is now in the process of moving to England. Needless to say, it\’s sometimes hard to catch up with him. We Skype regularly and keep in touch via email – which is great – but my dad will actually be here in the flesh to help Clay and I reorganize our house and convert the guest room (pictured above) into a nursery. It should be interesting! I\’ll keep you posted on the progress.

4. December 31 – January 1 means it\’s New Years Eve. Which I will be toasting with a wine glass full of apple juice! This date also indicates the universal birthday of all the horses in our barn. The 3-year-olds becomes derby prospects. The 2-year-olds move into Futurity status and with that, comes a whole new crop of hope. Which ones will meet our expectations? Which ones will step up and exceed them? It\’s always exciting to see how they turn out.

\"\"

4. Ye Ol\’ Broodmares. How I love thee. I love their kind eyes. I love how they come up and search out a scratch or a rub from us. And I love watching their bellies grow. It\’s a reminder of the spring to come and the great pride they will have when a tiny foal finally runs at her side.

\"\"

5. Speaking of bellies… On that note, of course my own due date is right in the middle of all our broodmares. It should be a busy time for my husband, to say the least! Which is why we have started to make some preparations now. Currently I am into my 21st week of pregnancy and it\’s clear our families are as excited as Clay and I are. While we still have a little ways to go, we received numerous Christmas presents in anticipation of my due date which is expected to be late April / early May.

\"\"

6. Of those gifts, one of my favorite presents was the plush puppet horse that my mother gave us – in and amongst a host of other things. My mom loves Christmas!! The funny thing about this little horsey is the fact that my mom bought it five years ago! She has been holding on to it for that long… And of course, at the time she had no way of knowing she would have a grandson and a granddaughter simultaneously. <smile> So there was only one horse.

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest

3 thoughts on “What Lies Ahead”

  1. Wendy Nelson

    Hi Jenn,

    I thoroughly enjoyed reading your “What Lies Ahead”. Looking forward to the updates. Wishing you and Clay and Babe a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

    Best wishes,
    Wendy Nelson

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Shopping Cart