Before I actually get started on my post, I have a comment to make. I noticed today that in almost all of the pictures of people that live with horses in the northern area of the US where it gets much colder, blankets are seldom seen. However, you come to Tennessee and horses are being blanketed or put in the barn with the smallest amount of snow! Do horses in the north have more of a tolerance? I would think they're all horses, they all have the ability to grow coats.

The air bit at both of our hands and the dogs scampered about, not knowing whether to be happy for the cold or to run instinctively to keep warm. There was no evidence of prints left, for the ground was hard in the cold weather. I reached my hands further into my sleeves and created comfortable balls with my fingers to keep them warm. The moment I took my hands out of my jacket sleeves in order to open the silver gate opening to paradise, I shamed myself. All skin except for that wrapping around the knuckles and joints were snow white. My fingernails were obviously not those to sit in hot water or be brushed and manicured. There was no evidence of paint on them and no evidence that they had ever known paint, except for that from the aunt who forced it on. My hands were also rougher and more wrinkly than most hands of the same age and gender, due to the fact that I had horses. I looked back at the three beauties before calling to the dogs who at all scattered across the yard. With the sound of my voice, they came running to me and past, through the gate. Sarge turned to stop and look at me before running forward. I wondered what that brilliant dog might have been thinking in that moments pause. My shoulders shrugged for me, knowing that I would not find the definite answer in this lifetime. The pieces of grass raised above the frozen earth, triumphant but still not victorious. I looked about at all of the tiny pieces and wondered at how they tried no matter how hard it was to live there- that grass would grow between cracks of concrete, and how those pieces continued to live anywhere they could. They are the ultimate adapting life, besides the archaea bacteria, being able to live in all sorts of places. The Palmetto tree, South Carolina's state tree, is only a type of grass, a fact that is not known to many people. Therefore South Carolina doesn't really have a state tree, but instead a state grass. I always found that fact interesting. My head raised again from my moment of thought and my toes pushed forward against the earth to take a lift off. I watched Finale chasing Hope around, partially finding fun and partially demanding domination. My mom and I chuckled at the two and commented a bit, though the specific comments I do not remember. I fall more and more in love with each mare every day I see her. Recently, Hope has fallen back into the circle of trust, something I am very glad and relieved for. At a certain time, I was afraid that I would never speak to her again and that we would continue on in this way- me not trusting her, and her not trusting me. We are starting to build a bridge of trust and are reaching out to each other from the center, as the two sides do not quite reach to each other yet. I can tell that she is trying, that she wants me to love her, that she wants me to trust her, and that she wants to trust me... But we are both creatures that are for the concept of change but the change itself tends to be rather nerve wracking. There was a point in time where I loved her with a fierce passion, and I liked to think at that time that she cared for me just as much (although I do not know, because I did not know how to treat her the way she wanted to be treated). The horse is a magnificent creature born with great forgiveness, but the forgiveness sometimes recedes farther inside than it should have due to experiences. I think that Hope still has much forgiveness in her, from me ignoring her for so long. I only ignored her because I was afraid of her, and for these past few months I have been waiting and waiting for the moment, for I knew that it was coming soon. What "moment" you ask? The moment where I knew that I would be able to play with Hope now and ride Hope in the future without being fearful or having doubts or assumptions as to what will come of it. "We" as a unit are getting stronger finally, and it gives me great joy. I have realized so many times how perfect her name is. I grabbed the purple halter off of the rubber hook and strode out toward the pasture. All three were in waiting, but when I opened the gate Cherish was the first to come and rest her beautiful face near me. It was not for long though, Hope decided that she would push Cherish out of the way so that she may leave the pasture for her nightly grain first. In response to this dominance, and wanting to protect Cherish, I used a move that I had seen Pat use in the Level 3 Liberty section, but that could also be used very effectively for driving. I used slower phases as to give her warning- pick up the 12' line off the halter, reach it back, toss it to her. She jumped backwards, with eyes and nostrils wide. Her face was shocked at this new intriguing move that I had pulled, and all I had to do to send her away was use the point of a finger to my left. She shook her head and trotted in that direction, then turned to look at me. I let her wait and turned to Cherish, who at this point had become afraid of my rope-slinging and walked off to stand with her butt with me at the fence. I felt sorry for what I had done, I had obviously turned my good intention into a bad one... But maybe not so much. When I turned back to Hope, she was still asking me a question. I leaned down a bit and encouraged her forward, as she willingly did. I undid the safety knot in the purple halter and offered it to her, when she gladly slipped her face in. We trotted to the barn together, and then I asked her to navigate around a log. She did not jump it but instead went through the split part of a log, which was still a squeeze game as far as I was concerned. I rewarded her with my heart in my hand, something she seems to always take very gladly now. We walked to the barn together and played with her stall doorway a bit before I slipped her halter off. The sound of a horse eating grain was always one of my favorite, next to a horse eating grass, the nicker of a horse, the sigh of a horse, and the hoofbeats... of a horse. I stepped back out into the cold to see if Cherish was ready to come with me. My mom was in the pasture playing the friendly game with Finale who was standing quite comfortably. Even though Finale is innately LBE, she can flip to RBI if she is pushed to hard or uncomfortable with a situation. I stepped forward Cherish, but she turned her face away. I stepped back from Cherish and she slowly turned her face back, as if there was a CAUTION yellow tape that she was afraid to cross. I let my leg loosen and breathed out heavily, allowing my whole body to relax and my fingers to tingle when I let them loose. I had not realized how tight my fist had gotten, for I was trying so hard to keep them warm. With this large release of tension, Cherish stepped forward and blew out, one of the most pleasurable and favored sounds in the life of Kara Cumberton. At this point, I looked up to see a beautiful crescent moon that had a halo of light encircling it. The sky behind it was grey mixed with orange, and there were several stars already emerging from their sleep. Cherish softly touched the halter with her nose and then let her face fall slowly into it. I rubbed her neck softly before tying the halter. Once again, another breath out, this time in unison. This beautiful little girl captured my heart from day one, and has never lost it. Hope had captured my heart at day one, and lost it... But sometimes things that get weak come back stronger after a time. Finale touched me from day one, and captured my mom's heart from day one. 

Oh, these wonderful horses. I do not know what I would do without them.