The Beginning

The Beginning



My sister decided that she wanted to buy another horse last fall because Ranger is getting older, and she can’t ride as fast or as far as she would like. Don’t worry, she is going to keep Ranger—and ride him as much as she can. She just wanted to ride more than he was able. I wanted her to, too. I would love to go on long rides with her and Cole. We both miss that so much from the days when Cruiser and Ranger were a force to be reckoned with.



Ellen has always loved Morgans—the old fashioned kind—not the showy saddle seat style. I have too. I might have 2 Morabs, but my first horse was a Morgan, and there is a reason I have Morabs and not Quarabs or some other Arabian cross.



She discovered the Quietude Stud, a Morgan breeder in West Virginia, on the Internet. Here is their website: http://www.lambertmorgans.com/ Take a look at these lovely horses. That was in the fall, and for all kinds of good reasons, she decided to wait until spring. It was a long wait, but it gave us something to look forward to and to dream about. After a terribly bad year with the illness and death of my father, we needed something to look forward to—in a big way.


I had another thing to look forward to. Someone would have to take care of her Cat, Stormy, while she was away—and you know how I love cats! We figured the best thing to do was to have him stay with me at my house. Her cat is a real sweetheart, and I love to go over her house to visit him.



We took the Thursday before off, and of course, we had to go riding before we did anything else. As it would turn out, it was a very lovely day, and the road construction was at a lull. We were able to go on a great trail ride together. It was our longest ride of the year, and Cole and Ranger behaved lovely.


The next stop was Taco Bell to fill my stomach. I think Ellen was too nervous to enjoy the food as much as I did. We then went over to her house. I hung out with her cat while she packed up his belongings. Stormy doesn’t travel well, so I tried to console him the whole time.


I have a spare room that he could live in, and as soon as Ellen set him free, he went under the bed. I let her stay alone with him, and I hung out with Thunder the Wonder Cat, who was very confused by everything going on. Finally, Ellen said that he was doing better and ate a whole can of food while he was under the bed.



She then left me with him, and she headed home. Her boyfriend was going with her on the trip, and they were planning to camp. He was all excited about the camping. Ellen isn’t into camping like he is, but she was excited about the horses.


I talked to her many times that evening as they drove south. I got to tell her that Stormy finally came out about 9:00, and he was friendly and relaxed. She was relieved. Stormy was her biggest worry about the trip.


They were planning to visit Quietude on Saturday. I got an email from her on Friday morning—and that was it! They were off the grid. I left many messages on her phone—and filled up her voicemail to the brim. I jumped whenever the phone rang, hoping it would be her all day on Saturday.



You see, it wasn’t just of case of her buying a horse, but she didn’t even know which one. There was Dante, a 6-year-old horse that already has trail experience, or Trey, a younger and untrained horse.


In the meantime, I consoled myself with hanging out with her cat. I would go back and forth between Thunder and Stormy. (It is totally coincidence that we both have weather related cat names—it actually took us a while to realize it. we both got them on stormy days.)



Come Sunday, I was worn out from waiting. Our niece rode Ranger on Saturday and I rode him on Sunday. It was the first time he had been out on trail by himself in a long time. He cried and cried—but he was fun to ride. I’m not used to such a big horse! Compared to little Cole, he is a monster. Mounting isn’t a problem—it’s funny when I dismount and it seems like it takes so long to reach the ground.


Finally, Sunday afternoon I got the call. She bought Dante! He sounds like a real gem. She just needs to arrange for him to be transported to Ohio.



They were on their way home on Monday, and she sent me a picture. Dante was a brown dot in a field. I had to wait until the next day for better pictures. You can see pictures on him on their website. He is a lovely horse.


It was with much sadness that she took Stormy away from me. I think in a few days he would have been brave enough to come out into the rest of the house. If it wasn’t for the dog, he would have already been out. Thunder was very curious about him—watching from behind the screen blocking the hallway, but neither one was aggressive. She said I couldn’t keep him. Sigh…

My adventure as a cat babysitter is over--Ellen's adventure is just beginning.