Meet Brute and Jasper!

 Since before we were married, Larry has wanted a team of horses.  Honestly, I’ve held him back.  And honestly, I wish I wouldn’t have.  He’s purchased and raised a couple teams, but we always felt pressure and need to sell them as finances were always tight.  You know how it goes with starting from scratch with babies to feed and babies on the way.

Larry’s aunt and uncle started raising Cleveland Bays and were generous enough to allow to use their stallion.  The result–Brute and Jasper.  I’ll admit, it was nip and tuck with being able to keep them for awhile.  I remember walking out of the barn with Larry after I just watched Brute buck around the round corral with him.  He beamed with excitement of hooking them up to the wagon while I cautiously suggested we sell them as our mares just had four more.  “Maybe these new ones won’t buck so hard.  And you can start on them earlier.  We have a bit more time now with the kids being older.”  Larry sighed and calmly said, “I really want to feed with a team this winter.  Do you know how long that takes?  I’m getting older.  These two will work good.”

I’m usually fairly stubborn.  But something made me stop and not broach the topic of selling these two beautiful creatures again.  Now, it’s winter and we are feeding with a team.  The kids are over the moon.  They love learning how to hook the horses up and driving.  We all go each chance we get, taking pictures and riding on the wagon.  I’m thoroughly impressed with how intelligent these horses are, not to mention how gentle.  The amount of life skills animals teach kids never ceases to amaze me either.  No matter how angry with each other they are, Emma and Ethan settle and work together to harness and lead the horses out.  It’s one thing to get yelled at for fighting and a whole different experience to have a prancing animal on a lead rope you’re holding onto jump around as your temper flairs.  You learn quick how to get yourself in check.  If you happen to get a little upset as your brother leads his charge in the wrong direction, you learn to say it nice no matter how upset you get.  And your brother learns to listen because the barn gets mighty small when you don’t do it right, and his charge doesn’t like the rustling of those white feed sacks his back end is getting mighty close to! 

As Larry says, “they aren’t quite parade ready (kids or horses),” but with kids and dogs and bikes jetting out from each direction, it won’t be long.