Harold and Avalon

Yesterday morning the sun rays, shining through the trees at the edge of the forest, illuminated the white frost coating the stalks of last year's grass. It was cold, very cold, but with the promise of the warm day it would become. Yasmina and I were in the barn, and my being was infused with joy. I was cleaning out horse poop.

In all my years of animal and child care, I have cleaned up a lot of poop. And I don't think I've ever enjoyed it as much as I did that morning. Yes, I was cleaning horse poop out of our barn. Poop from our own horses.

Our own horses!

[I've been riding horses since I was in the womb. Love for them runs in my blood. As a girl, horses were what I lived for. But it has been a long time since then. And even though my parents still have three horses and we sometimes ride our neighbor's horse, it's not the same as having horses to call my own. I feel like I've come home.]

Avalon is a small, brown mare with a blaze of white down her face. She is a wise and old soul, a keeper of the children. Harold is white and regal. He is Spirit incarnated. I am still in awe that they now live here with us.

The whole story is the sweetest blessing from the universe. It started with Leanne, a true horse whisperer if there ever was one. Although she loved Harold and Avalon deeply [or perhaps because of it], she felt that her beloved horses were being called elsewhere. Her work left little time for them, and Avalon needed children to love. It was a hard decision, but in the end Leanne decided to see if there was another family that could love them as much as she did.

That's when we enter the story. Three days after I got the official ok from Anthony to look for a horse, I found the listing for Avalon on Craigslist. I knew immediately that I had found something good. Avalon was a 21 year old Morgan mare, and she sounded like the ultimate kids horse. She was not just for sale; she was looking for the possibility of a new home. I wrote to her, mentioning that for the time being, she would be an only horse, but that we would ultimately be looking for one more.

When Leanne replied, she mentioned that she had a second horse whom she was considering selling if the right home could be found. She sent me the link to his Craigslist listing.

As I looked at the pictures of Harold, chills ran up and down my arms. His story brought tears to my eyes.

Seven years ago, Harold was in bad condition from an undiagnosed neck injury that had begun to badly affect his legs. Hardly able to walk, he was on his way to the slaughterhouse. A friend of Leanne's told her about this Azteca gelding who had been a national champion, and Leanne immediately rescued him. She spent the next six months rehabilitating Harold [King Harold, he likes to be called] with massage, chiropractic work, herbs, and her own healing energy and intuition. Today, Harold can still have "bad" days when his legs are stiff, but he still has years of spunk, energy, and love to give. How blessed we are to now be the recipients!

The night Leanne wrote me about Harold, I replied that although we still needed to meet the horses, I felt incredibly excited about our home being the perfect place for Harold and Avalon to live out the rest of their days. We drove up to Washington to meet them, and I immediately knew. We had found our horses.

And now, here I am. Filled with gratitude to watch my little girl beaming down from the back of Harold, saying, "I a cowboy!" Filled with the joy mirrored on my son's face as he rides Avalon through the field. And as for myself, today I took Harold out on our first ride alone together, up in the woods I've ridden through since I was a girl. Many years have passed since the last time I did this, but I still remember what to do. My body relaxes into the rhythm of his stride as the rain falls gently upon us. Avalon calls to us from the field, and Harold hesitates, wanting to return to her. It takes but the lightest touch to urge him forward again. When we do head home, he is filled with excitement. His nose is tucked, neck arched, dancing hooves on the forest path, body shaking as he whinnys to Avalon.

This is where I'm supposed to be. It's like coming home.

Thank you Leanne. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

*Blessings*