Ima Painted Lark

It’s been two years since ozzy lacerated his eye and sent us on a path we hadn’t planned for. It’s been a wild ride filled with many obstacles, but nights like Thursday night remind me that we have progressed so much since that time. We have gone through the stages of acceptance, dealt with his ageing body, and found ways to communicate around his lack of vision – despite me having less and less time to give him. We have explored training techniques that have changed how I think about working with horses and being a leader, which I think have made him happier. We communicate differently now, but it’s better than it was before he lost his eye. I never dreamed we would be at this point, but while I hate that some aspects of the lost eye will forever impact his life in a negative way, I’m also so proud of how far we’ve come despite and because of it.

Thursday night, I hopped on bareback as the sun was setting and rode around until I couldn’t tell where the trees were (hence the bad quality camera pics). Despite ozzy being more sensitive to scary noises and objects he can’t locate on his left side, he let me guide him around as if the fading light and mysterious rustling leaves didn’t bother him. After I let him loose and finished my barn chores, he came over to where I was sitting and leaned his cement block  head onto my shoulder, and started to doze off. Despite being quite uncomfortable for me, I didn’t move him because he usually isn’t very affectionate. He usually only initiates contact if he thinks you have something for him, rather than to cuddle or simply share space. And yet he did that several times that night – standing next to me, nuzzling my ear, and gently leaning his head on my shoulder.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Pro tip for everyone out there: don’t live in Florida. Just don’t. 

Hurricane Hermine came through Thursday night, and knocked out power for 80% of residents. Now, three days later, I have just gotten my power restored, but about 15% are still without. It especially sucks when a tree falls on your house as well. My mom and her boyfriend now have two holes in their roof due to this sucker. Thankfully, everyone I know is safe and secure. The horses did very well with it, though there is a ton of debri to clean up now.