#alysheba

Alysheba

It was a beautiful fall day when I went to visit Alysheba. He’d only been at the Horse Park for a few days, still settling in, finding his routine. I wasn’t even sure if I’d see him out of the stall, which is why I timed my visit late, to coincide with evening turnout. I didn’t want to see Alysheba through a set of bars, especially not the same bars I used to peer through when I would come up and say hi to John Henry on my lunch break. Seeing someone else’s name on that stall, even Alysheba’s, still made my heart twist a little. No, I wanted to see Alysheba out in the sun.

I couldn’t have timed my visit better. Kathy was just bringing him out into John’s old paddock. Not to turn him loose, not quite yet. After weeks of travel, they wanted to make sure he’d adapted well before turning him loose on his own. You might have wondered what kind of trouble a 24 year old stallion might scare up if you took him off the lead, but if you wondered that you weren’t looking at him. 

There are some horses who just know who they are, and Sheba was one of them. He stood outside in that golden sun, head raised, ears pricking at every sound, alert, ready, poised, sun setting his copper coat on fire. He surveyed his new domain, every inch of him a king. He was light, a little ribby thanks to weeks of travel and quarantine that had taken a bit of a toll. But not much. And when you looked him in the eye, not at all. One glance was all you needed to know this horse was something to marvel at, that you were in the presence of a legend. 

It was the only time I got to see him. A few short months later he left us, and left me with just the memory of this magnificent afternoon when I got to see history stride out of the barn with his head held high. 

Alysheba

Alysheba