North Florida Writer
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Life Around Us
  • Contact
  • MY BOOK PAGE

The Sixth Sense of Animals: It is Truly Worth Its Weight in Gold

10/21/2019

3 Comments

 
PictureOur PJ: A sometimes cantankerous but very graceful mare.
I have been a "Horse Husband" for about fifteen years and during that time I've spent many hours tending to our small herd.  They are interesting, yet sometimes finicky animals and I've fed them grain, watered them and given them hay for so long that it is almost something that can be done on autopilot.  I know, however, that it is important to pay attention for just when you think all is going well, something can startle them and when it does it takes full attention to keep them under control.  But even more importantly, they do have that sixth sense of animals that can often pick up something that I've missed and it is usually something that could create a major concern if not noticed.  Yesterday was one of those times.

I didn't sleep well Saturday night and I got up early on Sunday. I wrote my weekly Sunday blog and decided to go and feed the horses early since I would then have time to go over my Sunday school lesson before leaving for the church.  Walking out to the barn in the still dark predawn hours, I followed the beam of the flashlight to make sure that no snakes or other surprises might be along the way. The sky was interesting with large, broken clouds sailng by and heading north, following the tropical system we had the day before and I could see up the drive through the trees the first signs of daylight on the horizon as the distant skies were clear and the black night sky was turning to gray.  It was breezy and pleasant, so I went about my duties of distributing grain and checking water for the horses in their individual stalls. Then I went to the gate, let them trot in as they eagerly went to their accustomed stalls and began the unforgettable munch and crunch sound that is actually soothing to the soul.  While waiting for the horses to finish, I fed grain and took hay to the ponies who stayed in the pasture, put out some extra hay since it had previously been so dry, then fed the dogs and the barn cats.

As the four barn horses began to finish their feed, I started turning them out one at a time. The first three went uneventfully, but when I went to get the last one, a beautiful twelve year old mare who goes by the initials PJ for Pride and Joy, I would soon get the surprise that would only come because of her sixth sense.  I put the lead line around her neck and started leading here out, but when we came to the far end of the barn and the walk around the wash rack she balked, stopping dead still and breathing heavily.  Something was bothering her and she was uncomfortable and I carefully looked around the path to my front and there stretched out was a copperhead, just lying quietly and looking at us.  The snake was no more than five feet to our front and right in our path and it raised up and just looked at us.  I quickly had PJ back up and we turned and the snake just slithered off in the opposite direction toward the woods.  Had not PJ signaled danger, I likely would have stepped right on the snake and found myself spending what was a beautiful Sunday in the emergency room with several very painful days to follow.  I had made the mistake of not paying close enough attention as I did the chores that were overly familiar and PJ was the heroine of the day.

I thought about that when I went into the house to get ready for church and told my wife. She agreed with me that PJ had taken care of her caretaker on that day and when I went to church and the pastor called for any special praises that we congregants might have on that sunny morning, I told the congregation about our PJ.  Getting a snake bite before Sunday school was not something that God wanted for me on that day and He used PJ to provide the saving grace.  I'll remember that and try to be much more attentive in the future thanks to a beautiful mare who truly earned her keep.  All in the day of being a "Horse Husband," I guess, but I thought it was worth sharing. 

3 Comments
Lanore
10/21/2019 07:41:15 pm

Thank God for your pride and joy. Love the name.

Reply
James Dick link
10/22/2019 11:59:46 am

She's a great little mare, Lanore, and now she's super special. Thanks for commenting. Her official name is Preferred Status' Pride and Joy. Preferred Status, or Stat as we called in, was her father and he died only three weeks before she was born.

Reply
judy Hamilton
11/23/2019 11:27:02 pm

Thank you for sharing about the copperhead..

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    ABOUT ME

    Hi, I'm James, a writer who studies nature,  animals and all things created by God. I also write from time to time about what I think God expects of us.  I would love to hear your thoughts on these subjects. I hope you enjoy my comments.

    Archive

    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    America
    American Sports
    Animals
    Armed Forces Day
    Conservatism
    Doctorpatient0717615167
    Elections-2016
    Florida
    Florida-politics
    Freedom
    Freedom-of-speech
    Geese
    God
    Gods Glory0546cd6883
    Health Care
    Honor
    Integrity
    Jesus Christ
    Koch-brothers
    Leisure-time
    Love
    Military
    Nature
    Primaries
    Proverbs
    Safety
    Savior
    The Future
    Top-political-donors-list
    Tyrannical-government

    RSS Feed

Thanks for contacting northfloridawriter.com.
Photos used under Creative Commons from Arian Zwegers, trvlto, thomas pix, taberandrew, Justin A. Wilcox, Glyn Lowe Photoworks, ckay, phalinn, curtis palmer, bnpositive, oddsock, HooLengSiong, jespahjoy, illustir, ljlphotography, Out at Bob's, The Labour Party, ljlphotography, Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com, eli.pousson, JasonParis, Fibonacci Blue, wht_wolf9653, bsabarnowl, ` TheDreamSky, Ken_Hoffman, dsearls, NCinDC, James Byrum, DonkeyHotey, Waiting For The Word, cliff1066™, possan, dpape, David Holt London, akeg, Waiting For The Word, Glyn Lowe Photoworks, MilitaryHealth, yukali, infomatique, goforchris, cliff1066™, Wootang01, dctim1, Donald Lee Pardue, LizMarie_AK, campdarby, CedarBendDrive, bill85704, faeparsons, TMAB2003, cliff1066™, Rennett Stowe, KOMUnews, cliff1066™, chris.huggins, USDAgov, mat_walker, gruntzooki, DonkeyHotey, ljlphotography, Elvert Barnes, Paulsasleepwalker, facebook.com/snapshotsofthepast, foto3116, Miller_Center, digitonin, BostonCatholic, Watt_Dabney, jepoirrier, EpicFireworks, derekskey, cletch, DonkeyHotey, KOMUnews, DonkeyHotey, ravensong75, Alan Cleaver, Francisco Diez, hermmermferm, cod_gabriel, Marxchivist, Fibonacci Blue, dbgg1979, “Caveman Chuck” Coker, David Barrie, rjs1322, Just Another Wretch, Keith Laverack, Waiting For The Word, whoohoo120, AFS-USA Intercultural Programs, Brett Jordan, yisris, Michael Hodge, Waiting For The Word, MilitaryHealth, doceggman, AlmazUK, taberandrew, cliff1066™, krossbow, shinya, The Jewish Agency for Israel, kudumomo, “Caveman Chuck” Coker, cliff1066™, johntrainor, emilio labrador, cliff1066™, EraPhernalia Vintage . . . (playin' hook-y ;o), **emmar**, Mrs. Gemstone, Andrea Westmoreland, Jeff Kern, Waiting For The Word, Abdulsalam Haykal, Donald Lee Pardue, roberthuffstutter, Dougtone, b1mbo, DonkeyHotey, paularps, kaatjevervoort, Simon Davison, BONGURI, Marion Doss, ex_magician, Bergfels, Brett Jordan, Tim Evanson, Art4TheGlryOfGod, Jeff Kubina, sskennel, DonkeyHotey, VirtKitty, Rodrigo_Soldon, resistealeau, MilitaryHealth, edalisse, Mervi Eskelinen aka tasselflower, Kaz Andrew, nitram242, Andrew Aliferis, uitdragerij, Paul J Everett, Joe Shlabotnik, Jeffrey, Harry Thomas Photography, Tim Evanson, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region, Ron Cogswell, Nationalmuseet, escapedtowisconsin, Michael Cory, DonkeyHotey, timsamoff, mrbillt6, bnilsen, themonnie, valeehill, dichohecho, Waiting For The Word, technochick, cliff1066™, RTD Photography, Randy Wick, Enokson, Rising Damp, DonkeyHotey, Waiting For The Word, SteveNakatani, Fovea Centralis, Dru Bloomfield - At Home in Scottsdale, lisaclarke, Mulad, Roswell_UMC, Bengt Nyman, U.S. Embassy New Delhi, FreedomHouse2, SuperFantastic, Rory Finneren, Alaskan Dude, Larry1732, Mr. T in DC, ikewinski, Ivy Dawned, RLHyde, Waiting For The Word, heartajack, dyogi, dailymatador, David Paul Ohmer, Pleuntje, Leonard Bentley, midwestnerd, Donald Lee Pardue, DonkeyHotey, Oli-Oviyan, PatrikWalde, flamesworddragon, The U.S. Army, Zach Heller Photography, DonkeyHotey, EvinDC, Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections, Ronnie Macdonald, Gerry Dincher, The U.S. Army, Jeff Belmonte, DonkeyHotey, Texas Military Forces, jim.greenhill, Ben Sutherland, the Original Jeff Martin, Loz Flowers, CBP Photography, spbpda, OCVA, Hot Rod Homepage, brianholsclaw, dozodomo, quinn.anya, KOMUnews, wtstoffs, Leo Newball, Jr., lilli2de, dmott9, Justin A. Wilcox, sören2013, boboroshi, newagecrap, CoreBurn, simminch, ninahale, EvinDC, Mister Awesome, HeyRocker, beggs, Donald Lee Pardue