THE BEST DAY

Most of April is spent worrying about Queen and Finn. Queenie is impossibly thin. If I am to believe her dentist, she must be about 30 years old. Her start to life reads like a horror story. The SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) did an incredible job with her. Queenie had been rehomed but was returned to the SPCA as ‘unmanageable’ and they were beginning to despair that she would not be able to integrate with humans again. I don’t know who was more surprised when I sat in the offices at the SPCA and said, “I want to take Queenie.” I had not meant to say that at all, but my bones and my blood knew. As my statement still rang in the air, my brain caught up and I knew those words to be true.

I don’t have an ounce of trouble with Queen when she comes home. That is so untrue. You see, I have a great big blind spot when it comes to The Queen. To me she can do no wrong after all the wrong that has been done to her. Perhaps I have done her a disservice for I have spent hours and hours to train Finn and he is such an easy horse to work with. Queen can be a pain in the arse. She is such a fighter. There was one time when I brushed too hard on Queenie’s back. She swung her behind on me so fast with a ‘hell no’, I was convinced she was going to kick me to high hell. When I tried to lift her hoof up, she tried to bite me on the bum. When I told her the carrots were finished and all I had for her was love, The Queen sighed, turned around, lifted her tail and peed on my shoes! God, I love this sassy girl and truly believe she has been training ME all these years. I hope when we part from this plane, she will call me a satisfactory student.

I don’t think the SPCA expected her to live very long. An equine dentist told me six years ago that with the state of her teeth, he didn’t think she could survive. The Queen Machine has been with me for 13 years. She is tough, so very brave and a madam of note.

One of a kind.

I love her fiercely.

She is adored by Finn too. If he can’t see his Queen, he has a panic attack and they are never very far away from each other. Finn is a thoroughbred and raced for seven years. He is the gentlest of souls. I wasn’t looking for another horse as Queen had another paddock mate at that time. He passed away within three months of Finn coming to live with us. I saw Finn’s photo on the WCET (Western Cape Equine Trust) website and I can’t explain my pull towards him, other than it felt like love at first sight. I put off going to see him as I knew it was crazy to get another horse, but the attraction was too strong. When I arrived at WCET, I could have picked him out of a crowd of a thousand horses. WCET retrains and rehomes thoroughbreds off the track. There is exceptional care taken in retraining and WCET horses are very calm defying the popular belief that all thoroughbreds are dilly. Even so, it was a challenge to separate Finn from his great love Queen when we went out riding together. He is a big, strong horse and in the beginning I was quite intimidated by him. As our relationship grew, I started taking equipment off him, until I was left with my bareback pad and a rope around his neck. With the help of a friend, we trained Finn in the neck rope and that is all we ever went out in, miles away from Queen I might add. I could wax on and on about the magic of the trust and respect riding partnership Finn and I shared. Because of his tough racing career, his joints aren’t great and I made the decision to retire him. It was selfishly, one of the saddest days of my life.

At Glee, I am struggling with his hooves. The hoof wall is very thin and Finn is a very heavy horse. He is not comfortable and I need a farrier desperately. His leg is so much better now, but when the sores flare up again I get some antibiotics for him, continue to doctor him until finally I feel like I am winning.

We have good days and bad days which all seem like ground hog day. I count myself extremely lucky to be able to have long walks all over my beautiful land.

Always, in the back of my mind, there is the never-ending, exhausting worry. My happiness seems to depend on my animals’ wellbeing.

The horses have been venturing ever closer to the house, but never come down. The trips up and down to feed, water and play doctor are relentless. Days roll into one. Lockdown is extended. There are some ridiculous laws in place: no booze, no smokes, no beach walks, no friends….

Until the 24^th of April. The horses saunter in here as if they have been doing it all their lives. Of course, it takes them all of 2 seconds before they are both in the house. I rearrange some furniture so they can fit comfortably. Swanky isn’t tiled or painted yet and it’s not like I’m getting any visitors any time soon. It may as well be them!

I had such a fun day, taking a thousand and one pictures and videos. These two are so entertaining. They are my big magic dogs.

Rosie, Faye and Zac are spitting mad!

I apologise if this title sounds sarcastic given what we are all going through right now the world over. But on 24 April 2020 when my horses came down to the house, it truly felt like a GREAT TIME TO BE ALIVE!

Have a Listen below.

Music: Julie Hartley/Heste De Beer

Lyrics: Julie Hartley

Vocalist: Heste De Beer

Backing vocalists: Julie Hartley/Nicky Baumann

Arranged by Heste De Beer

Mixed and Mastered by Big Tone Productions

APPRECIATIONS

Thank you to people all over the world who work on behalf of animals who do not have a voice or a choice.

To the outrageously, talented Heste. I have missed working with you these past nine months so much. I hope this is a promise I can keep when I say I will see you soon. I have many new songs I wish to get out. It is always such a privilege making music with you.

Please check out Heste’s website www.hestetrax.co.za especially if you need back tracks or the arrangement of songs from scratch.