No ranch is complete without a couple of horses, and this one is no exception. Since we lost our two favorites in 2004 and 2005—my daughter’s Quarter Horse and my Morgan that we had raised from birth—we were a horseless ranch. That was just unacceptable! So in 2005 while visiting our daughter in Idaho, we saw a picture of a registered Tobiano Paint/Quarter Horse on the bulletin board at the local farm and ranch store. Her name was Cheyenne. She was beautiful, only 11 years old, and well trained. A perfect fit!
We went and tried her out and of course, my daughter, being a Quarter Horse gal, fell in love with her. So she had to come to Colorado. Since I was a Morgan person, I was still looking. I soon heard about a Morgan horse farm in Preston, Idaho. Idaho has a lot of beautiful animals! Back we went to Moonridge Farms. At first I was looking at a young gelding, but he was just too spirited for me. Fortunately, they had a black mare named Mountain Shadows Mystic Powers (Misty). I guess they figured she was too old and I wouldn’t be interested, but once I got the chance to see her I got goose bumps! She looked so much like my other Morgan I felt I was seeing a ghost. At the age of 13 and mostly trained, she was another must have.
Now our old horses were fast friends—so much so that one died within three months of the other, though they were a year apart in age. I had hoped the same for these new mares. They made the trip together from Idaho to Colorado, but I’m not sure they were entirely happy about it—certainly not with each other. Cheyenne is tall, strong, and confident, and just didn’t appreciate Misty’s more polite and deferring demeanor. It was so irritating to her that she took great pleasure in chasing Misty out of the food trough as often as possible, baring her teeth in a most threatening way. Misty, however, always seemed to shake it off, believing completely that in her heart of hearts, Cheyenne really loved her. So every time Cheyenne threatened her, she would run a short way, then turn around and come back. Cheyenne tried repeatedly to scare her off, but it just never worked.
Now, six years later, Cheyenne still likes to threaten Misty, particularly when we’re riding. If Misty gets closer than a few feet, Cheyenne punishes her with a blazing look. Maybe just to convince herself that she’s still in charge? Misty backs off, then continues on. She just loves Cheyenne, and for the last several years, this strong, confident Quarter Horse has watched over my little Morgan when no one else is around, as if she somehow knows that she’s too tender hearted for the tough times in life.
It was difficult for me to catch this moment with my camera, as Cheyenne doesn’t really like to admit that she’s come to love Misty as much as Misty loves her. Besides, she’s usually the one playing watchdog. Imagine if this got out—the fragile Morgan watching over her! But I know her secret. Sometimes it just takes awhile for us to accept the flaws we see in one another. Over time, we learn to care less and less about them. After all, what really matters in life is not the ins and outs of our personalities, but having someone you can count on to watch over you while you sleep.
