Sad goodbyes

These are the two faces that greet me every morning, and today might be the last time I see them together. Miro and Shy Boy, two of the stallions from this years muster, wild less than a month ago, could give a clock lessons on timekeeping, they are waiting at their gate, at the top of the hill, every morning on the dot, to be brought into the stables. Horses are creatures of habit, and like to stick to a routine, and these boys do that without fail. Every morning when I go to catch them I have a little smile, looking at these two eager faces, and can't believe that these are my wild boys, I don't think they would match the image of a wild stallion in anyone's imagination. Most people think I'm joking too, they cant be wild,as both these boys come straight up as soon as they see people,then especially with Miro, wearing his bright green cover, at least the other stallion, has his wild mane showing, small proof that his heritage lies in the rugged mountains of New Zealand's central plateau.

But today I'm kind of sad, Shy Boy is due to leave for his new home, and he is a horse I really love and will miss greatly. It's a funny thing, but the nice easy, straight forward horses, the Miro, of the world are the ones that fly under the radar, quietly achieving, and surpassing expectations, with little fuss, I've even sat and ridden Miro around the paddock. But it's the unusual ones, the challenges of the equine world, I seem to grow most attached to.

I'm not sure why, maybe because they teach us more, or we feel stronger emotions with them. But when I start talking to people about this years wild stallions it's Bear and Shy Boy, that I go on and on about, the ones that spring most vividly to mind.

Shy Boy especially, I love, not that I don't love them all, just that, if I had to pick one, he stands out. He's has changed so much, and is such an emotional, expressive horse, you get a lot out of working with him. The super aggressive stallion, is now the sweetest, mildest, politest and most affectionate horse I know. Out of all my wild horses, you get the sense that this horse wants to be with you, not for food, or a dry stable, just that he craves the leadership and companionship we offer. So when he goes this afternoon, I really will miss him, and will be genuinely sad to see him go, as horses like this don't come around very often, any interaction you have with them should be cherished