Meet Pearl, New Horse

[Bruce]

3-4 WEEKS!!!!

 

[B&B Happy goats]

Hope you're both feeling better soon

 

[Finnie]

Dear Miss @Baymule ,

I am a lurker and a fan. (Does that mean I am a stalker like Mr. @Senile_Texas_Aggie ? I think it must.) First I would like to say I'm sorry you and DH are sick, and I hope you are on the mend. Second, what briefly brings me out of lurking is something I ran across recently over on Backyard Chickens. (Where I am an actual active member, and not just a lurker.) I found this ancient thread written by you, about your horse Joe and the time you won the story contest in the TSC magazine Out Here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-supply-contest-3rd-post-46-update-52.436771/

The links to the actual story are too old to work any more, but all the wonderful comments by people who did get to read it make me really wish I could read Joe's story too. Do you by any chance still have a copy of the story in a format that you could attach without going to too much trouble? I wonder if something as simple as taking a picture of it and posting the picture would work.

I realize I could have asked this question over on BYC and bumped that old thread up. But I kind of felt that right here would be more appropriate because this is where current people are following Pearl's wonderful story, and these people would probably like to read about Joe as much as I would. Or if you updated it over there, people here could follow the link to it.

Please don't dig too hard for it. I don't mean to cause you extra work while you're not feeling well. But I hope that my hunch that this is something you would have saved and cherished is correct. I'd like to read the story that brought tears to so many people's eyes.

Thank you, and kind regards,
Finnie

 

[Baymule]

@Finnie, I have a copy of that old magazine somewhere. I'll try to find it. But here is a picture of Joe and Amos, my neighbor's 89 year old father. I wrote the story about that day. If I can't find it, I remember it well enough that I can write it again. We are keeping our 3 grand daughters for the weekend, age 2, 3, and 11. Then Christmas, out of town for a few days. But I promise you, I'll get that story for you to read. That's Joe's eye in my avatar, he's 29 years old now and still the love of my life.

Haha, that's back when I had red hair, it's white as Joe is now. I finally got tired of coloring it and let it grow out......I was white headed at 34...….

 

[Sheepshape]

What a lovely story about you buying a horse when you were a girl, Bay. How these creatures can enhance our lives!

 

[Rammy]

@Finnie, I have a copy of that old magazine somewhere. I'll try to find it. But here is a picture of Joe and Amos, my neighbor's 89 year old father. I wrote the story about that day. If I can't find it, I remember it well enough that I can write it again. We are keeping our 3 grand daughters for the weekend, age 2, 3, and 11. Then Christmas, out of town for a few days. But I promise you, I'll get that story for you to read. That's Joe's eye in my avatar, he's 29 years old now and still the love of my life.

Haha, that's back when I had red hair, it's white as Joe is now. I finally got tired of coloring it and let it grow out......I was white headed at 34...….

So thats where that Tx spirit comes from. Your a redhead underneath!

 

[GypsyG]

Photo updates of Pearl are overdue!

Joe is gorgeous! What breed/s is he?


And just out of curiosity... Do you have a bay mule too? I love mules! If not, what is the story behind your screen name?

 

[Baymule]

Joe is a Quarter Horse. We bought him when he was 7 years old. He has always been an old soul. Calm, gentle and sweet, safe for anyone to ride. Joe is now 29 years old.

I did have a bay mule. I raised her from my Tennessee Walker mare. She hated anything and everything that wasn't a horse. She stalked the dogs, I wouldn't let them in the horse pasture. She stalked the sheep up and down the fence. At our old place, she attacked dogs that came on the property. She stomped a coral snake one time! Every other animal got along except her, so I sold her to a man who loved mules.

 

[Ridgetop]

Did she tip toe up until she was close enough to get them? My old TW mare hated our goats and would sneak up as they lay sleeping along the fence. Then she would take a bite at them. Luckily, after the first time she tried to kick them through the corral bars and caught her leg in the bars, I had attached heavy pvc horse mesh to the corral bars so she couldn't get a big bite, just a nip!

Josie the Mule tries to sneak up on our LGDs occasionally. She has gotten used to them in 6 years, but they are wary and keep an eye on her when she is close by. I think I catch her grinning as they make a big circle around her when she gives them the bad eye! lol

YES! Horses and mules do tip toe or I guess it would be tip hoof!

 

[Baymule]

This is for @Finnie

Joe and Amos

We had 16 acres where we kept our horses. I made a feed run one Saturday and stopped at the neighbor's before I unloaded feed. They had recently gone to Alabama to bring her 89 year old father home with them, as he had become unable to care for himself. Virgie told me that she sure wished she had a horse for Amos, her father, to ride. He had told everyone that his daughter was coming from Texas to get him and he was going to ride back to Alabama on a big white horse, waving to all of his friends.

I told her that I had a ton of feed to go unload and that I would saddle up Joe and bring him over for Amos to ride. I told her it would take me about an hour. I stacked up 40 bags of feed, caught Joe, brushed him out and saddled him up. It had rained recently and washed him clean. It was a beautiful October day and Joe's white hair sparkled in the sun like diamonds. Nineteen year old Joe carried me at a trot back over to the neighbors place.

In the meantime, Amos had taken a shower, put on cologne, dressed in new blue jeans, cowboy boots, a black pearl snapped western shirt with red embroidered roses and topped it off with his Stetson hat. Amos was ready to ride. Virgie's husband, Roger, helped Amos get in the saddle. Joe stood like a statue. Amos took up the reins, clucked to Joe, Joe took a couple of steps and stopped. My joke about Joe was that he had two speeds-slow and stop. Amos clucked to Joe, Joe took a couple of steps and stopped. WHOO-EEEE! Amos was riding! Virgie took picture after picture. Joe posed for pictures, a light wind ruffled up his mane. Amos chattered about riding Joe back to Alabama and waving to all of his friends. Amos was having a great time, Joe was a perfect gentleman. I was so proud of him.

Joe was happy to pose for pictures and take a few steps for Amos. Amos was happy to be riding a big white horse. We were all a bunch of happy goofs, watching an old man on an old horse on a perfect day. After that day, Amos claimed Joe as his horse and would waggle a bony finger at me and admonish me to take care of "his" horse.

Time passed and Amos became more and more feeble. Virgie took care of him, bathed, fed and even diapered him. After bringing him home from the hospital, she told him he was home. A few minutes later he was gone. Roger and Virgie took Amos back to Alabama for burial. On his casket was a picture of Amos riding a big white horse, waving to all of his friends.