morning

I love the mornings at Vinceremos. The quiet stillness of the night gives way to the busyness of the day, and for a sliver of time the two meet, a perfect harmony of the day to come and the night that was. The sun and heat are not yet oppressive - simply warm and inviting. The horses are finishing up breakfast, intoxicated with the contentment of a full belly and a subtle breeze.  The cats are yawning and stretching, deciding whether to eat or capture a few more moments of shut eye. I often have to fight the urge to lie down on the bales of hay that line the arena and daydream the morning away.

In the morning, the possibilities for the day are endless. Enjoy your cup of coffee or tea this morning, and savor these precious moments of peace; you may just find your steps a bit lighter today.

Angie

thousand words thursday...bling

All the Pretty Horses

I love all the horses at Vinceremos. I’m not sure I could choose just one to be my favorite. However, there are a couple that I’m particularly fond of. I could just spend time with Desi and Air all day long. I recently found out that Desi is known as a ‘chestnut Arabian’. It’s so exciting to learn about the different kinds of horses that Vinceremos has. Arabian horses have always inspired my imagination, but it’s wonderful to actually meet one and work with him. Desi is the sweetest horse I have ever met. I have to admit that I was a little nervous when one of the volunteers instructed me to put my hand by his mouth, but I trusted her advice. Desi licked me! He licked my hand, over and over again! He is so sweet. He’s just like a big dog. I’ve always dreamed of having such an interaction with a horse (or any interaction at all), but I never thought it would actually happen. I was so surprised. His tongue was wet and a little rough, but I felt so special. Desi is a stupendous horse because he makes everyone, especially his riders, feel special.

I also love Air. Oh, there’s just no way to describe it. He’s a gentle giant. From afar, he is striking. The sun gleams across his body, revealing his muscles at work, as he runs. Up close, he is so much taller than I expect, and a closer inspection reveals the delicate, white hairs speckling his body. He is so gentle. After I had worked with him a few times, I came to the barn to volunteer again, and I brought a few friends with me. When we went to get a few horses from the Red paddock, including Air, one of my guy friends asked me, “Do you want me to get the big guy?” I laughed and said, “Him? Oh, I don’t have to worry. He’s a sweetheart.” Every time I put on Air’s halter, he puts his head in it for me, sometimes faster than I can position it! He’s gentle, beautiful, and such a good horse.

I love Desi and Air. They’re just lovely. They’re friendly and cooperative. I am so glad that Vinceremos has them in addition to all the other wonderful horses they keep.

thousand words thursday...tampa

Volunteering with Style

Hello there, fellow Vinceremos lovers!

Vinceremos is a wonderful place to learn new things and get volunteer hours. J I’ve been volunteering there to get community service hours for my college. One beautiful afternoon, I was volunteering with my friend, and we had some exciting adventures at Vinceremos. We helped out with the horses and the riders as usual, but there was some down-time for chores. First, that afternoon, we went around and checked the waters in the different paddocks. My jaw dropped though when I saw two lambs with their mother in one of the paddocks! They were real and soft and ba-a-ed, and I got to hold one! Vinceremos is so educational because I had seen sheep and lambs in movies, but I had never been so close to one. Its nose was pink and soft. Joy electrified all my senses when I knelt on green grass and held that lamb in the warm sunshine.

However, that was not our only adventure. Later, it was dinner time for the horses, and my friend and I were feeding the ones in the temporary stalls underneath the covered arena. Each horse has its own bucket so we decided the line the buckets up in front of the stall doors (not a good idea). That way, we thought, we could just feed the horses all at once. So…my friend and I are going to each stall and feeding each horse. She was at one end of the row of stalls, and I was walking back to the other end when I saw something that made me frown. I thought, “Why can I see a horse’s head and shoulders?” I called back to my friend, “Uh…I think we have a problem.” Trouble (of course that would be the horse’s name) had knocked the stall door open (somehow) to get to the feed bucket standing outside! I didn’t want to spook him so I walked calmly over and picked up the feed bucket. He followed me right into the stall. I was like, “Yes!” It was so funny. I yelled back to my friend, “All right. We’re good.” She hadn’t even realized what was going on. Then I was walking back towards her to finish feeding the other horses when I saw that Tilly had gotten a little excited too. Somehow, that horse had managed to wrap sticky fly tape all up in her mane. She must have been trying to get to her feed bucket too and the fly tape was probably hanging on the stall wall. My jaw was hanging open again. I was like, “What? You too?” I went into the stall and tried to get the tape off of her head (me, who knows next to nothing about horses). It was stuck…really stuck. I had to get another volunteer to help me, but my word, once she got it off, that horse’s hair looked so funny. According to one volunteer (who shall not be named), Tilly’s hair already looks funny, but with all that sticky residue in it, it looked like an ‘80s afro’. 

So that was our eventful afternoon. Life can be funny sometimes, and I really enjoy having some of those laughs at Vinceremos. It’s my favorite place to volunteer, and I plan on getting a lot more hours there. Thank you, Vinceremos!

Heather R. Lawrence

Misty May

        Oh Misty May…………………..How we love this girl so much,  Adison’s first pony.  If Ms. Heidi can get Adison to stop hugging Misty May long enough they can start their lesson for the day.  The smallest of the Crew at the barn: but such a Big Love in our hearts.   

Feeding Misty May Apples!

Sweet Misty May.

Saying Hi to Misty May.

Look Mommy!

   

thousand words thursday...volunteer