Meet Mattie - Skip's Pine Blossom

I think I mentioned in a past blog entry that big changes were coming to our house. You probably thought the post about Hestur summed it up. But, no. There's a method to this madness, you see.

Mr. B's truck has been faithful and fantastic for two decades. And while he had an urge to replace it a decade ago, I had stalled him, noting that we'd just picked up the minivan and should probably pay off that loan before taking on another. Plus, it's a Toyota, I told him. It'll run FOREVER!

He apparently took my comments to heart. We paid off that loan years ago, and his truck just keeps chugging along. And when I've mentioned replacing it, he's said, "It'll run forEVER!" And that was that.

But it won't tow much, doesn't seat four (and only seats three if someone gets SUPER friendly with the stick shift), and it's getting up there in miles. Still, after living to regret the sale of three of the four vehicles I've ever owned (my '71 Demon, '90 Saab convertible and '79 Jeep), I'm not certain I want to sell the old Toyota.

But we knew this was coming:



Her official name is Skip's Pine Blossom, but her previous owner called her Mattie after one of her great granddam. She's not exactly an impulse buy. I've wanted a horse for as long as I can remember, and V has been loving her horseback riding lessons since she began nearly two years ago. Plus, we're both suckers for large, friendly animals. (E rode for more than a year, then tired of the arena and has since opted to spend ranch time running amok.)

Last year, I rode this horse for a month to help the owner get her back in shape after a long rest. You see, they had lots of horses, and only so much time. She taught me a few things (chiefly, that I knew NOTHING about horses), and convinced me that, were I ever to actually have a horse, she might be the one for me.

But she wasn't for sale.

She wasn't ever going to be for sale.

She was a keeper.

Until three weeks ago or so when the owner decided she might want to move on to a gaited horse - a Peruvian Paso that offers a much gentler ride. As she told me about the potential new horse, she kept referring to Mattie with "but" in the sentence....lots of "buts." I got the feeling she was considering selling the horse, and asked her to let me know first if she so decided.

Two nights later I got the call.

And here we are.

As I took her out for my first ride after purchasing her I thought, "This is the. stupidest. thing I have ever done." Really...I'm a city slicker. I don't even live on property where I can KEEP a horse, let alone live a lifestyle requiring a horse. On the other hand, in the week since she became mine, the girls have spent a little bit of every day out on the ranch, a bit of every day providing for her care and feeding, exercise and grooming.

And E is riding again.