You Can Lead a Horse To Water

Toasty mornings with teakettles whistling bring to mind Danish days on Marata’s horse farm, ponies prancing in the unusually warm sunlight, and new fangled sparkling silver water fountains. Mirada, Karen and Laura’s Mom hosted Bob, Jamie and I for a summer vacation. We had just settled into the whitewashed kitchen when the problem was presented to us. For years the housed herd of guest horses had been watered by filling lovely old white porcelain cast iron tubs which had been scattered all over the rolling green fields of the farm in Faum. Mirada had the forward thinking idea of saving farm hand time [and her the hourly wage] of piping water to these beautiful horses with new fountains! Yes, my lovelies, all you have to do is push your nose right here. Out bubbles crisp cool clean water, minus the dead flies, which often drowned in the old tub! Seems horses are very suspicious. Nope the herd was having none of it. Soon, if not cajoled, they would be passing out from lack of water in the Danish summer’s heat. What foreign creature had replaced their friendly old white tub of water? Where was their water? They saw no water. Sure there was a scent of it from that pole but “What the heck?” snorted the black stallion shaking his head at the girls. We were told there would be no breakfast, lunch or dinner for us until we helped get those horses watered. So off we went, shuffling our feet to a meet and greet with the herd. Marata and the girls knew the horses. We almost knew a horse from a cow. I went right up to this large black beauty, pet his nose and rubbed my cheek on his face, love at first sight! Blackie started following me and we walked toward the fountain. Then the sun glanced off the dreaded thing and he shied. I pushed the control, filled my hands with water and brought him some. Lordy, lordy he drank from my hands! The herd behind him whinnied. I tried to get him nearer the fountain but it was a no, go. He’d drink from my hands but not the fountain. It just goes to show you, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink, is really TRUE! *The next morning Laura begged her own pony AGAIN to drink. He finally did the rest did too then ;)