When Horses Played in the Sand

The other day I was walking around the property and was struck by the differences since we no longer have horses. It has been 3 1/2 years since the last horse left the property and the flora has wasted no time in taking over.
Back in the horse days the entire property looked a lot different. There were picturesque pasture ornaments dotting the fields, and these ornaments happened to eat grass and other vegetation… lots of it. Our place was like a putting green with the grasses cropped so close. They acted like riding mowers too – keeping the lawns nice and short.
Now that they are no longer here to keep nature in check the place has become somewhat overgrown and wild. There is way too much property to keep it cropped by hand so we have learned to live with the jungle.
The sand ring used to be a place to play with ponies. They were an impressive bunch once they started galloping around the ring. I felt like a circus ringmaster orchestrating all this beautiful motion.

Sometimes though it was a good place to just hang out and relax in the soft, warm sand.

And it was a wonderful place to give baby their first lessons. These are some of my most cherished times ever. The moms would follow along patiently keeping a careful eye out for their babies, trusting that I wouldn’t harm them.

Sometimes the sand ring would be home for a mother and her baby until baby was big enough to fit in with the herd.

Now it is overgrown with grasses and wild flowers (okay weeds). The only thing playing in it is the occasional ground hog.

Next on the tour – the aisle to the pastures – see post “When Horses Raced the Aisle”.  Then see “When Horses Played in the Fields” for the rest of the story.