Three big, bay, geldings, and a butternut squash of a mustang mare walk onto a beach…
I actually don’t have a joke for this, but for anyone who knows what Flax looks like, it was a hilarious sight to see her chumming around with such big horses.
Now Flax is from the west, The Pryor Mountains in Montana to be exact and now she lives with me on our little farm in New Jersey. Being from the shore, I wanted her to see the beach, and feel the power of the ocean. I wanted her to experience the sand under her hooves, breathe in the salt of the ocean air, and feel the wind through her mane as she gallops on soft white sand. Romantic right? Derrr.
Coincidentally I flew over Island State Park the day before!
Now my farm is 7 miles to the closest beach, however the only place we can legally ride horses is approximately 30 miles south on Island State Beach Park in NJ. So we had to haul everyone there.
The day started out sunny and beautiful with 57 degree weather. Flax took a bit to load onto the trailer but when she was ready and loaded, she rode the whole way down like a champ. We then went to Kelly’s and Stephanie’s farm to pick up Amore so Chelsea could ride him.
When we got to the beach and tacked up, Flax got her first sniff of the salty air that I love and grew up with. She was perky and excited and had lots of energy! We mounted up and walked through the dunes where it opened up to 8 miles of beach. Her eyes bulged for a bit, but then she was unfazed and brave with the new territory. Even curious enough to go to the shore line. However, her curiosity was soon trumped with “HOLY CRAP! IT'S ALIVE!” when the waves would break near her hooves. She was so adorably cute and would run away when the waves broke towards her. I love her.
There was one point we all stopped for a group picture and she started pawing. She then got to her knees, and that’s when I had my “HOLY CRAP SHE'S GOING TO ROLL” moment. I got her back up and we all took a deep breath! Crisis averted :)
All four humans and horses had a great time. Galloping and strolling on the shore line made for such an amazing day. After about three hours of riding we finally called it quits and went back to the trailers. Of course the 3 big bay geldings loaded like pros and well it took about a half hour to get Flax on. Thank god I had three awesome ladies to help and support me! Flax was finally on and we ended the day as the sun was going down.
It was a perfect day.
