Quiet Storm's Super Day

Yesterday was Super Saturday, an event sponsored by our county's 4-H. It involves several classes for young people and even parents to select from. Each participant can choose up to four classes. In the past, I've taught soapmaking classes; this year I opted for something different. Darling and I taught a class on how to adopt a wild horse.

It blew me away to have a classroom absolutely packed with people. We had 15 kids and six adults, and they were all anxious to learn. Questions, comments...there wasn't a lack of either, right down to the smallest child. They all had something to say and contribute.

We covered herd management areas, the adoption process, facility requirements and freezebrands. They wanted to know what happened to horses that weren't pretty. They wondered how long mustangs would live. They asked if they had good feet. We spent 40 minutes in the classroom before going outside to see our star attraction.

This was Quiet Storm's first outing. She hadn't been in a horse trailer since being moved to our house in early July. It was a windy, blustery day, and she was nervous out in that trailer. We heard her whinny as we walked across the parking lot. She was turning around in the trailer, causing it to rattle about. I had the kids stand back; parents grabbed their younger kids and clenched their teeth...they were about to witness a wild horse climb out of a trailer that she obviously didn't want to be in.

Quiet Storm was light on her feet when she came out of the trailer. Her head was up, her eyes were wide. She glanced at the crowd of people, then took in the cars and school buses nearby. I led her in a circle, then explained to everyone that in order to get her attention focused on me and not everything else around her, that I would ask her to back up a few steps, then have her pivot on her hind quarters, then her forequarters. They watched as Quiet Storm's attention shifted immediately to what she was being asked to do.

And then we told the kids they could come and say hello. They swarmed our two year, reaching over one another to touch her soft winter coat. Quiet Storm yawned, licked a couple of the kids, and stood patiently as 15 children with 30 hands touched her face, neck and sides. It was rather like kids in a candy store, and only after they'd been glued to her for a good ten minutes did the parents begin to say, "Hey, it's our turn!"

I think we made a few new friends!