Sometimes, just sometimes, you have a trip abroad spent in the company of Arabian Horses that takes a while to assimilate. To find a way to try to put into words the emotions you felt, the horses that you saw, the sheer beauty, romance, and magic of it all. Sometimes, those words flow. Other times, they tangle and muddle together, leaving you trying to make sense of it all. My recent trips prove to be the latter, not the former, but with one overriding memory – that of the peaceful mare barns at dusk, and the tranquility and beauty that they offered.
I have spent much of the past four weeks travelling. Airports, Channel Tunnels, long drives, long waits, arriving at hotels in darkness, living out of a suitcase. But every day – seeing beautiful Arabian horses. Is there any pleasure in life greater than that?
There was one moment, though, that stands out from these travels. We were at Jadem Arabians, and it was after their post-All Nations’ Cup open house had finished. Everyone had left, and Christine had joined us for a chat. As dusk began to fall, we knew that we should leave to our hotel. But I wanted to walk the mare barns.
Away around the back of Christine’s beautiful house is a traditional stone barn. Low walls separate the mares and the foals, and there is light, space, tranquility and peace, all rolled into one.
The mare barn at Jadem Arabians.
Guarding the entrance was one of my favourite stallions at Jadem, the graceful 20-year-old Polish Werter, a son of Eukaliptus (Bandos x Eunice by Comet) and out of Walkiria (Mamluk x Weczera by Bandos). A cuddle, a smile, and then I moved on.
There is nothing more peaceful, to my mind, than walking the barns at the end of a busy day. The horses are quiet, contentedly munching on their hay; is there a better sound in the world than that? If there is, then let me know! That sound, coupled with the gentle snorts as mare nuzzles her foal, equal paradise to me.
It was around the back row of this barn that I came across a heavily fleabitten mare. She had no name – that almost didn’t matter – as she was soulful and beautiful, her coat the most eye-catching of colours.
To stand there in the silence, stroking this mare as she relaxed, and just enjoy being in her presence, was the perfect antidote to the frenzied days around.
It was one perfect, peaceful moment.
And, surely, our lives with our precious Arabian horses are made up of such moments? The trick is remembering to notice them when they happen, and take note. For it is these treasured, captured seconds of time that keep us going through the frenzied days, when we all rush around the world in search of our next fix of Arabiana.
So, to this wonderful mare – thank you. Thank you for giving me a moment of tranquility that still makes me smile almost three weeks on.
Treasure these moments.
