Our Neigh-bors

The boys and I dropped my husband off at work, and as soon as I pulled back into our driveway, from the backseat I  heard what is now a new familiar cry, “I don’t want to go home”.  

For whatever reason, a playground wasn’t a good option that day, so I had just a short time to think of something to do before the backseat meltdown kicked in.  Then it hit me…let’s go see the horses!

For those that don’t know, W. B. Saul High School is an agricultural school, so there is a great farm across the street from the school building.  My kids love it when the cows and horses are out, so I thought this day would be a great day to see them up close.  

I drive by the farm every day on my way home from work, so I knew the horses and donkeys were out.  As we drove up, another car was pulling up, and there was another couple already there gazing at the horses. I’ve noticed the animals have become quite the attraction lately.  The boys were thrilled at the spontaneous trip someplace different.  They were so curious and got the biggest kick out of touching the horses noses.  

After a little while, I threw the boys back into the car and headed down to Acme for a bag of carrots.  The cashier knew right away we were heading back to feed the horses.  Apparently, we weren’t the first family to stop in to buy carrots and/or apples for them.  

Our babysitter just graduated from Saul, and said feeding the horses carrots was ok, but apples weren’t good.  Apparently the sugar from the apples can ferment in the horses stomachs and they can become drunk!  

I’m getting conflicting reports on this, as other families have been told different things, however, I’m going to go with my babysitter, who has far more experience taking care of these horses than I.  Of course, I wouldn’t think the man who we saw bring them horse feed was wrong either.

Our spontaneous trip was so much fun, and it only cost $3.99!  A few days later, my oldest again cried from the backseat, “I don’t want to go home”.  However, this time he followed it with, “I want to lay on the grass, under a tree and look at the clouds.”  I thought it was so sweet!  He didn’t understand that a tree along the highway would not make a good resting spot, nor would a random homeowner be happy to see us parked in his/her front lawn.  So, I headed back to Saul.  I grabbed a blanket from the car trunk, and we put it on the grass, under a tree and not only looked at the clouds, but watched the horses as well.  

Again, plenty of cars stopped to feed the poor, under-nourished (ha!) horses, and we were even offered a couple of carrots so we could join the fun.  On both trips, it was just so nice to be outside on a beautiful day while spending time with the boys, and forgetting for a little while that we live in a city.