Lucy Goose Gets Her Nails Done

On Wednesday, our amazing farrier was out to see the Lucy goose horse. Of course, Lisa and I were there before he was - we brought Grinder and Lucy inside. When I went out to the pasture, Lucy decided to torture me. She was grazing in the way back, and she raised her head, arched her neck real pretty and nickered. I thought she was going to come running like she usually does, but, alas; she decided to pivot, buck, and canter away to the far, far, farrrrr corner of the field. Grinder followed. Groann.

So, of course, Lisa and I walked alllllll the way out there and fetched the two weirdos. Then, we walked back up and Lisa deposited Grinder into a stall while I led Lucy into the cross ties. She tucked her head for a minute, turning it to the side to look at me. Then, she nickered again and put her chin on my shoulder, closing her eyes. That made my heart so, so happy. I sat there and just enjoyed our bond for a minute, and then Lisa came back and I started grooming. Lucy picked up all four feet for me nicely, and I spent extra time on her back feet since those are the ones in the worst shape, and the ones that she rarely lets anyone but me touch. She seemed fine with it when I held her foot in different positions, with different weight distributions, etc. So, I put her foot down and let her rest.

Then, the farrier arrived. I swear, my heart must've jumped out of the chest when I realized that it was actually happening; Lucy was getting a future.

The actual shoeing itself wasn't too big of a deal. I had to hold Goose, and she wasn't too bad. She flipped her head occasionally when the farrier held her foot wrong (she's touchy about her front right sometimes), but otherwise she wasn't bad. She has a large chunk of foot on her front left, from where the abscess broke through and eventually the part of her hoof fell off, where the farrier put hoof filler on so that if she stepped on that part, she wouldn't pull her shoe off.

After she got shod, and had all four shoes on, I led her into the round pen. We had to leave her in until today (Friday), so that the hoof filler has time to dry and Lucy has time to get used to her added (approximate) 1/2" height. :) So, I was walking Lucy around a little and eventually I took off her halter. Without thinking about it I went through a few showmanship steps, without making any physical contact with Lucy at all. I didn't know Lisa and the farrier were watching. When I gave Lucy a treat from my pocket and kissed her on the nose, and then she rested her chin on my shoulder again... I looked around and the farrier and Lisa were watching.

There was one thing that the farrier - who has worked on our horses two, three, maybe four times, and doesn't have a personal relationship with us at all - said that made me so happy. It made me proud of who I am, of how far I've come with Lucy in the two years I've worked with her and known her. It made me realize how much work I've put into her, and how much I look forward to our future together. What he said made me realize that anything is possible and that it truly is a miracle that we didn't have to put Lucy down when she went lame last summer. What did he say?

"You two have come a long way. You can tell that she trusts you - and only you. Cherish that bond, because most people can have a bond that strong with a horse in their entire lifetime. No, don't cherish it - be proud of it. Be proud of who you two are, as a team."

I, Gabriella Elise... am proud of my horse. I am proud of us, who we are, as not two individuals, but as a partnered soul living in two bodies.

Thank you, God, for this. Thank you for everything. I owe it all to you.