‘Twas the night before Christmas at Horse Nation

Looking to get in the Christmas spirit? Start caroling this soon-to-be-classic.

[top image: eBay]

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. (The barn cats got him, thankfully.)
De-icers were hung in the barn’s buckets with care
in the hopes that next morning, less ice would be there.

The horses were nestled so snug in their stalls
Munching sweetly on hay, with not one care at all–
Not thinking of board bills, or vet fees or tack,
Or of any goodies Santa would bring in his sack.

Myself? I was sleeping, pooped from hours of chores,
Cleaning and baking, plus turning out horses.
So (of course) around midnight, I heard such a clatter
I bid farewell to my bed to see what was the matter.

Not colic, I prayed, and not a puncture wound either,
The holiday means I’ve maxed my credit up to the wither.
I stomped through the freezing ice and snow underfoot
Oh great, now I feel I’ve got slush in my boot.

I peered out to the fields, to the left and the right,
Counting heads to make sure that all were in sight.
There’s Lightning, and Blaze, and Dobbin, and Fritz,
The most accident-prone, but not one thing seemed amiss.

Then I looked to the barn, and I saw on the roof,
Something just so weird I thought it must be a spoof.
Not a fat man in red, or a reindeer of course,
But my finicky boarder’s imported horse.

[CTV Atlantic, via HN)

“Easy, boy,” I muttered as I sloshed along,
Hoping and praying my roof would hold strong.
I’m not sure how he did it, and I didn’t much care,
The one thing I knew was that he should not be there.

He nickered to me, quite pleased with himself–
This dressage champ with ribbons up on the shelf,
Had found a new sport, though exactly how was a stumper.
It appeared that he really preferred being a jumper.

I crept into the feed room to gather my arsenal:
A lunge whip, a bucket, and treats to which he was partial.
And a step at a time, I coaxed him back to the Earth
On landing I swear his eye showed a twinkle of mirth.

Shaking my head at this bizarre Christmas gift,
I was too tired to care if his owner was miffed.
I led Horse Houdini back into his stall,
Relieved that the horses were safe, one and all.

They munched and they rustled, settling in for the night
So I checked hay and water; decided they’d be all right.
I trudged up to the house, well past time to hit the hay.
I knew that the horses would find ways to surprise me the next day.

Though it wasn’t the pitter-patter of reindeer above,
I’d do it again for the horses I love.
At Horse Nation we’re thankful for all humor equine
Cause when it comes to our horses, if you can’t laugh, you’d cry.

Happy holidays from Horse Nation.

Go Riding.