In The Land Of Equus....

Warning: this post, like my last post, is picture and word heavy, but I promise you it will be worth the read. Grab yourself (another!) cup of tasty beverage and enjoy!

When I last left you, I was knee deep in horses, mules and donkeys. I could have died and been buried right then and there, with a smile on my face. If this was heaven, I wanted a full time membership to this Land of Equus.

Kira and I had exchanged one event for another--we'd played hooky from the rest of the Alabama Wagon Train to meet with Joe and Cindy Bullard, horse-folk extraordinaire, and tour the many pastures that contained every gorgeous one-toed specimen known to man.

We'd already met Kira's mule's daddy (got that?), and a bevvy of fuzzy-furred mules, black Percherons, and various quarter horses. But we weren't done yet--with each pasture, things kept getting better...or cuter.

Such was the case with the third pasture, one that housed young horses! I'll go ahead and speak for Kira when I say we were trying to figure out how to sneak some of these cute colts and foals away for ourselves. I doubt they'd fit into a suitcase:

The little white horse on the left is the small filly of the white mare in the last post...

As with all of the Bullard equines, these little ones (and a few larger ones) ambled towards us all as we stepped into their pasture, greeting us as surely as if we were part of their horse tribe. They were well mannered, if a bit mischievous, sniffing at us and begging to be petted...

Here's the little white missy again....

Photo: Kira Burdeshaw


Camera hog? You decide...

 Photo: Kira Burdeshaw

SOMEBODY was smitten with this impish  fuzzy fellow. He loved being scratched and petted...

As I mentioned before, we were in horse heaven. I can actually recall musing out loud about some possibility of simply setting up a tent and living out there amongst these charming animals...and still, there were MORE of them to visit. We would pile into Joe's truck and zip off to the next pasture, excited as schoolkids on Christmas.



And the NEXT pasture...that, my Friends, might have been the definitive moment of the day. For there, in a pasture as green and rolling as something you'd see in Ireland, with a sweet little barn equally as worldly, were the white and grey Percherons. Which, of course, would be the hands-down favorite of this particular Vagabond. White or bone grey as ghosts, this proud older breed of French draft horse has always enchanted me with it's exceptional gait, it's amazingly calm demeanor...and that phantom color.


And there they were, something out of a bucolic Cinderella novel..I won't lie: my eyes glazed over in a dreamy haze just staring at the beautiful scenery, amazing sunny skies, and these fairy-tale animals, placid amongst verdant hills...

There is magic here for Joe Bullard, too: this Percheron, Gracie, is the oldest of his horses: she's 28 years old, and looks amazing for her age!

Meditating in the sun.....

Joe stands proudly with his fine girl...

Gracie is an old style Perch--as you can see, she is not as large or "leggy" as most modern drafts (of any breed), but the power is in the girth, back legs and sturdy chest.

However, Gracie's two daughters, also in the pasture with her--were stunning grey giantesses.

I held my breath as they came toward us--they sauntered over in a notably shy way, illusionary figures who almost seemed afraid to be touched, as if the dream would evaporate. But once I placed my hands on their beautiful muzzles...

MAGIC...

Photos below: Kira Burdeshaw

I could have stayed there forever, amongst these placid large faces and patient spirits. And still, there were other animals to see. All I could think of at that moment was...if there's a heaven, I am sure horses are in it.

I wondered, too, at that moment, if these two wondered that if there was a heaven, would there be kind people in it, as well.....

To Be Continued...