When I went to make an Instagram post celebrating one month of Manta, I realized how few pictures I have of her.
Obviously by "few" I mean "a hundred" but by my standards, I haven't taken that many. I haven't even brought my camera to the barn for a proper photoshoot. Obviously, it's not because I think she's ugly; she's a real life unicorn.
Actually, I'm in awe. I'm literally so wrapped up in the joy of my moments with her I'm forgetting to document them. This has only ever happened on my wedding day. I'm truly in awe of my beautiful, beautiful pony.
Awe of her, yes, of course. Watching her personality bloom over the last month, seeing her crawl out of the introversion that she came so wrapped up in and slowly build the confidence of an animal who knows she can relax has been awesome. I'm delighted by how quickly she's gained weight and started developing tiny muscles.
But even more, I'm in awe of the journey. All these years of waiting and wondering and smiling politely and then waiting some more brought me here, to the start of a new adventure. A continuation of the old one, feeling both completely familiar and terrifyingly new.
What an exhilarating journey I’m on. While I was debating my purchase, I confessed to my pal Saskia that I worried what people would think of my buying a downhill built, 11 yr old mustang rescue. Aside from the typical platitudes about making decisions for me, not other people's opinions, she gave wonderful insight:
“You're not buying a horse for the show ring. You're buying for the journey."
Yes that's exactly it (typical Saskia, to be so wise!). I very much want to show again, I love showing. But it's not my reason. My reason is to have a horse friend to hack in fields and play in puddles and hand graze for hours. A horse I can bring along slowly and try new things with. And this mare, who during my test rides braved puddles, thunderstorms, and giant screaming trucks, is certainly the friend for the job.
For that, for the gift of her friendship and the start of our journey, I'm in awe.