Wednesday 3 October 2007

The Final Countdown

Today is Humphries final day in Dromiskin. His five months are up and he has to go back tomorrow. He has a winter of carriage driving to look forward to. I went over to say goodbye to him, the first time I have seen him in ages. He is looking really well. His winter coat is growing through, but he isn't too woolly and he is really soft. His mane has grown a lot and is beginning to look nice. Despite neglect (from me) he isn't that fat and looks great.
Michele hid apples in her pockets and let me give them to Humphries, so he was very glad to see me, as were the other animals who clustered around. Every time he finished an apple, Humphries went after Michele because he is clever enough to know she was the provider of the feast, and not me. I suppose he is much more used to seeing Michele than me anyway.

Humphries is a really lovely horse, very gentle and accommodating to people, and he has shown me that I can do things with horses - like leading and grooming and tacking up - and that they aren't evil. However, I felt really sad today saying goodbye to him. Goodbye's are always sad, but I keep on thinking about my plans for the summer and for doing things with him and comparing those plans to how things really turned out. I suppose that makes me feel sad and also very foolish.


I hope Humphries will have a good winter and remember fondly his time in Dromiskin. I know Chiana will greatly miss her friend - I would say he was her best friend. She won't like going back into the field with the other horses. I think Humphries gave her a lot of security as well as companionship. I think she will be the hardest hit by his leaving. I'm sure Harvey, Nellie and the goats will miss him too, as they seemed to get on well. He fitted in with everyone so calmly and even though he was nervous of the goats when he arrived, he is totally OK with them now. I hope he enjoyed his summer with his friends in Dromiskin, which is a lovely place for animals and I think they find it very relaxing and comfortable.




2 comments:

Broken Wing said...

THis is so sad. I don't think you should have any regrets although I know things didn't work out at planned. On the positive side:
you organised and planned something that brought a lot of joy to a lot of people;
you got added confidence in your ability with horses;
you initially made great strides and you coped the the unexpected setbacks really well; you gave a great summer to humphries and chiana; and loads of other things too but my brian is so tired i can't use it. It is sad though that he is leaving. I will miss him and this blog and while i know that new zealand beakons i think that perhaps the new year may see another burgeoning plan for back in the saddle. i hope so anyway. i often look at the photos in this blog to cheer me up

Anonymous said...

Poor Humphries - I'm sure he'll miss you all very much!