Refuge Farms (www.refugefarms.org)

It was finally a warm and sunny day. This month of October had seen snow and wind and rain. And more rain. And then just for a change, a bit more rain. The horses were coated in mud up to their bellies. The pastures were sloppy and slippery. It seemed so much more like a muddy spring than a cold, wet fall. If only!

Anyhow, Tuesday dawned calm and with a hint of a blue sky. The forecast was for sunshine and I was greatly relieved. We had the Transitions Class from Menomonie High School heading out for an afternoon visit. And these visits always go better if there is sunshine instead of rain showers.

One o'clock arrived as did the vans. Right on time. Kelley is the instructor and has brought her previous classes to THE FARM. She and I had talked and her updates told me that most of the students that were here last fall and spring had graduated from high school. This was a "new bunch", as she put it. And some of them were not lovers of horses. "Quite the opposite, in fact," she said. Could be a tough bunch to win over. . .

We began in the center of the driveway and introduced ourselves and Little Man. I had Little Man (THE FARM's dog) on a harness and he was being most boisterous about the fact that he was made to stand by me when there were kids in the yard! In fact, these kids were only feet in front of him! He begged and begged to be turned loose! His dancing made him hard to hold on to! But not until I was sure that all of the students were okay with Little Man being among them would I let him free. Did a dog frighten or concern anyone? Because if there was anyone who would prefer it, we would certainly put Little Man in the house.

My answer came not in words, but in actions. Several of the students were down on their knees and stretching their arms out to Little Man. "Let him go!" they chorused. And so Little Man was released from his harness and one very, very joyful dog found heaven in the hands and laps of these students. And from the looks of the faces, the feelings were mutual, it seemed.

We wandered down the driveway and introduce Spirit and Beauty and Josephina. Once again, the Human Beings shook their heads in disbelief as I told them that the little blonde mare with the freeze brand on her hip was truly the mother of the big grey one with the jet black mane and tail. "Really?" they asked. "For sure?" one questioned.

Once midway to the new barn, we paused at the corral and I explained the American Indian Folklore about blue eyed horses. You see, the Paint horse was the preferred horse of the American Indian. The paint was a compact horse with sturdy legs and a strong body. Quick in mind and sturdy in body. A good horse for the Indian because the horse was key to the life of an Indian. The horse was their transportation for firewood, for meat, for fish, for moving to better lands, and, of course, for war. Without a sturdy, reliable horse, the American Indian was in trouble, that was for sure.

And if the American Indian would find a blue-eyed Paint, that horse was special. A single blue eye was taken as intelligence and a sign of above normal powers. This would be a good horse to ride into battle. This would be a good horse to trust with your life.

And if ever the American Indian would find a Paint horse with two blue eyes, well that would most certainly be a message from the Great Power. This horse would not be ridden or worked or asked to risk its life. No, this horse would be protected and revered. This double blue-eyed horse would have a special paddock built for it and be allowed to remain free. This horse would not be asked to work or accept a man on his back. This horse was the Great Power come down to live among them.

With that introduction - right on cue - Dude turned his head and walked up to the corral fence. He walked straight to us and showed us his light blues eyes - both of them! I heard the gasps and saw the looks of appreciation for Dude. This was an unusual horse, to be certain. A double blue-eyed Paint horse!

A certain young man found his way to the north side of the corral and extended his hand to Dude. I gave it no mind since Dude had not yet responded to any human's desire to touch him. Dude would undoubtedly look at the hand, look at the young man, and then turn to walk in the opposite direction. I turned my attention to the remainder of the class and took them into the barn to brush Blaise and Gracie.

The teachers of this class are good, attentive people and so any students not in the barn with me would still be supervised. That meant the two people with Little Man in the grass were well observed. That also meant the young man at the corral edge was being observed. Safety was always in the front of all of our minds.

After a span of time, we brought Blaise and Gracie out to the yard to eat some sweet lawn grass. That's when I spent a moment and observed the young man at the corral fence attempting to attract Dude's attention. To my sheer surprise, it seemed that this young man had indeed won the horse over. Dude was standing directly in front of the man eating grass from his hand. Now there, I thought, is a sight I never thought I would see. Now was the time for me to shake my head....

It was time for a class picture and so the young man feeding Dude was asked to join the group. The young man left the corral fence line and wandered south to the rest of his class for the trip picture. As I watched the young man move away from Dude, I observed Dude. His white-blue eyes were glued to the back of his new friend. He walked in pace with his friend and never once took his eyes off of this Human Being. After the picture, the young man wandered a bit to find more fresh grass. Dude still kept his eyes fixed on the student and walked the fence line to be as close to him as possible.

When the student went to the fence to feed Dude, the horse was there, awaiting him. A nicker came out of Dude. A nicker of appreciation for his return and his gift of sweet grass. Like I said, now was the time for me to shake my head....

As we walked back to the vans, Kelley told me that this young man was surprising them today. I explained to her that Dude was surprising to me today, too! Never, I said, had this horse warmed up to a human. Even me! This horse was always on guard and had shown no affection or preference to any human since he had arrived back in April!

"Really?" was Kelley's question. She found that most interesting. For, you see, on the ride over to THE FARM, this young man had "copped an attitude", she said. He had stated in no uncertain terms that if he had known it was a horse place they were going to he would not have gone along! He didn't like horses! Didn't want to spend any time with horses! And he saw no need for horses! He like to create comics and even in his comics he didn't have any horses! Now was the time for both of us to shake our heads....

Once in the vans, I thanked all of the students for coming. Little Man was already asleep in the shade. Gracie and Blaise were back in their pastures. And Dude had returned to grazing in the corral. Going to the second van, I found the young man who had bonded with Dude. I patted him on the shoulder and he turned his head to look at me. Right in my eyes. With his white blue eyes.

Now was the time for me to shake my head....

Enjoy the journey of each and every day,
Sandy and The Herd and the Double Blue-Eyed Dude