Chloe Takes It Up a Notch

I used to think two conflicting things about Chloe. The first was that maybe if she were 15 or 16 hands, she might just be my dream horse. And the other was that if she were 15 or 16 hands, she'd be way too scary to deal with.

Today, after the horses had eaten, they charged back across the field into their shelter to escape the relentless and bloodthirsty horseflies which are out in force at this time of year. Chloe, however, stayed outside with me.

She pressed up against me and followed me whenever I moved off. Out in the open field, with the pesky flies and the other horses nearby, I felt too vulnerable to climb onto her back. I leaned across her, and scratched her, but couldn't quite summon up the gumption to scramble aboard.

Chloe kept pressing me and following me. I saw a tire lying on the ground and said to her, "If I stand on that tire, it'll be easier for me to climb onto your back." I duly walked over to the tire and stood on the rim. Chloe followed and positioned herself next to me so that it was easy for me to hop on. Once I was settled, she walked forward. This was ok. However, she suddenly quickened her pace when Bridget appeared behind us, and I thought it prudent at this point to slide off.

Bridget and Chloe followed me to the gate and demanded to know why they couldn't come through as well.

Stop that, Bridget!

Later in the evening, I was sitting on the porch with a book and a g&t when Chloe came up to the fence and looked at me across the lawn. I called out a greeting to her. She walked round to the gate and waited. It was twilight and too late to be taking her out, but I went over and pulled handfuls of grass for her.

I don't know where the scary horse went, but the one that stayed behind might be my dream horse after all, even if she is only 12 hands high.