When my dad retired, he bought some horses to eat the grass on his 10 acres of land and gifted them to his grandchildren.

This beauty belonged to my son.

I assumed we could rock up, saddle her and ride to our heart’s content. I know. I know. Clueless.

Christopher needed to build trust in her before he could think about riding her. He had to begin slowly with gentle touches and quiet coaxing.

She needed to get used to the sound of his voice and his smell.

A couple of days passed before she was willing to eat from his hand.

There would be no riding on that visit…but a young boy fell head-over-heels in love with his first horse. A mahogany beauty he called Rose.