"People. You know, I sometimes believe it's the actions of people that make us lose faith in each other, but the actions of the animals in our care that bring us back."
written by Colleen Blanchard upon reading of the new filly
Grace is soft. Grace is unspoken. Grace is honest. Grace is unbroken.
Grace is seen in the eyes of horses like Jimmer, DukeDuke, Jerry, and Beauty.
Grace is in the Barn.
Susan Amundson, Friend of THE FARM
"The highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live them."
John F. Kennedy
Diane took her mittened hands out of her pockets. She moved toward Frances. Frances walked up to her in a slow, guarded pace. They touched in the center of the barn and Frances lowered his head so his forehead was in Diane's chest. Diane reached out to touch his neck and softly said,
"I've come a long way to meet you, Frances Andrew."
"You don't throw a whole life away just because he's banged up a little."
The movie, Seabiscuit
I soon came to call this giant "Slim". Standing at over 20 hands tall, he was
a friend especially to the children. Repeatedly I witnessed this giant of a horse bend
his head to the ground so as to be able to look the child in the eye. Many times, his
lower lip - protruding to cover the crookedly healed jaw bones - would be dragging in
the dirt as he adjusted to see the "little people". This creature allowed me to tell his story and show our guests just what forgiveness looks like. It looks like Slim, the Gentle Giant.
"Sandy, you take this horse and you make a difference in somebody's life."
Andy Durco, Jr. September, 2001
"There's something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside
of man."
Sir Winston Churchill
"Do what you can, with what you have, right where you are."
Theodore Roosevelt
This little foal, who we now call "Unit" due to her tiny size, came to us for help and she ended up helping me. Reteaching me the meaning of faith. You know the old Sunday School lesson, "Ask and ye shall receive"?
By the end of this story, my visitor had tears in her eyes. Then came the statement that has encouraged me daily since then. This kindly visitor simply and quietly said, "Just imagine the story Bonita is telling her ancestors while she sleeps." Amen.
Later in the afternoon, Mrs. Claus came over to visit with Babee Joy and talk about
whatever Mrs. Claus talks to baby horses about. "How does that new halter feel? Are you full from all the carrots today? Do you believe in Santa, Babee Joy?"
Thank you, Andy, for your unwillingness to allow me to rest.
We will call her Beauty because of her eyes. We will call her Beauty because her eyes tell us what is in her heart - true Beauty from within. Beauty it is. An example to us all. Beauty comes from within. It's not what's on the outside that determines our beauty. A lesson of youth relearned again for us all by the presence of this rejected mare. A mare we call Beauty.
"Some say we healed a broken-down horse. Others say he healed us. Oh heck, we healed each other."
The movie, Seabiscuit
"But talking to me is the best part. Then the real talking begins. I go to Hannah and give her feed of which she immediately begins to "hoover". Two or three mouthfuls in to the feed, she takes her front left foot - probably her least painful one - and paws the ground 4 times. Just 4 times. And every time. Hannah says "Thank You, Thank You".
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