Dancer's bunch...

From Jim: My morning almost always starts with a greeting from Dancer, one of our OTT Thoroughbreds. She's close to 30 now and still absolutely beautiful. She is the main mare to Star Man and Dunny. These boys are a part of the greeting crew. Nickers all around! It's the food, you know, but I like to kid myself that they're glad to see my smiling face. Yeh, Right. Anyway, these three and Chad, who shares a turnout, but has his own stall make up the front yard herd. Dancer was rescued from a slaughter pen. She had a fractured rear cannon bone from being crowded into a defective fence. She was severely underweight. This proud girl had won 10's of thousands of dollars, is permanently registered in the Breeder's Cup and had been a productive brood mare. When she could no longer be bred, she was tossed away. Wow, how could anyone do that? Talk about a mean spirited industry. Star Man is a fine old gentleman. He's a Tennessee Walking Horse, a gorgeous black with a white snip, flowing mane and tail, a real beauty in his own right. He has a congenital spinal stenosis that causes an occasional weakness in his hind quarters. There's nothing to do for this and his working days are over. When he came here from an auction where he was rescued from the Killer/Buyers, he was very lame in the rear. Our vet thought maybe he would have 3 or 4 months. That was over 3 years ago. He is a real love, likes to give kisses, and always enjoys a pet. Dunny, a stunning Quarterhorse, has congenital cataracts. His vision isn't all that great, but he does fine. He's a gentle and willing boy. He and Star often play together. Both are respectful of Dancer's authority. Chad hangs out in the general area of these three, but at his advanced age, dozing and quietly passing the time is more to his liking. The others generally go along with this, but, sometimes, Dunny can't resist giving Chad a little playtime. These friends are my morning faces. They stand and anxiously urge me to get on with the feeding. They welcome a pat on the nose or scratch behind the ear, if it doesn't take too long. If Donna has the grain bucket, not so much. Chad has to have sack feed as his teeth are worn out and the others need a token scoop as a gesture of fairness. I can't compete with that. I wish everyone could start their days with the same enjoyment these critters give me. As the rest of the feeding goes on, there's over 70 more to be fed, I have the smile that Dancer's bunch passed along. Take some time to love on your critters, It's good for you and them!