ELMER'S POST

Michael and I did it again.  We are behind in our posts.

Anna and I have two horses that pull our buggy.  One is an older horse, that we have had for many years.  It's time to pull buggies is coming to end.  No, we will not send it to the glue factory like someone asked me, but will be put to rest in our fenced in area and barn.  She has given us good service over the many years and deserves to retire.

So Anna and I bought a new horse to take over the load.  We had it a couple of months and went out in the barn one morning and found it lying down - dead.  I called the vet because I didn't want the other horses to have what that horse had.  Well the horse had an autopsy and it was found it had a heart attack. Usually if that happens, the horse is pulling the buggy, but I guess like people, horses can have them at any time, too.  It was a fairly young horse.

So off, I went looking for another one.  We had to use our older horse as we had nothing else to use.  A friend of our son's John had a horse for sale.  So I went over and checked the horse out.  Hooked it up to our buggy and saw how well it pulled.  Took it out on the road to see how it would act with traffic and all.  It seemed a great horse, at a reasonable price and purchased it.

Everything went find the first couple days, when I drove the buggy.  Great horse.  Couldn't complain.  So Anna finally decided to use it.  The first time I went with her and everything was fine.  The next day she had to go over to Moses and Hannah's store to bring Hannah home.  She was gone for a long time, but I thought she was talking down at the store or maybe stopped somewhere else along the way.

When she pulled in the driveway, she had a different horse on our buggy.  I asked her where our horse was.  She said she was going inside to make tea and would tell me the whole story.  So I unhooked the unknown horse, brushed and put it in the barn.  When I got to the house Anna had the tea made.

She said she started our for the store and the horse was fine until she got down the road away.  All of a sudden the horse started taking off - running fast down the road.  She tried to control it and it took everything she had to stop it.  She sat by the road for a few minutes and started again.  It went down the road just fine - for a while then took off again.  She finally got to the store.

At the store, she explained what happened.  Moses said to take that horse off the buggy and put his on, but Anna being stuborn, said it would be all right on the way home.  Moses later told me, he shouldn't have paid attention to her and changed horses.  But the store, was busy - customers were checking out, asking questions, etc. So her let them take it home.

Anna and Hannah left the store and everything was find.  Down the road, the horse took off again and Anna said she couldn't stop it or control it.  Hannah said she was going to jump out, but Anna stopped her.  Finally Anna got it slowed down, but couldn't control it.  When the horse got to it's former owners, it pulled in the driveway.  When it got near the barn it stopped.

The farmer happen to be outside and saw it come home.  Anna told him to get that thing off our buggy.  He offered to drive our buggy home with that horse.  Anna told him in stronger words to get that horse off our buggy NOW, which smartly he did.  He knew enough not to argue with Anna.  Then he put another of his horses on it.  So Anna and Hannah came home with another of his horses on the buggy.  Anna told me, in no uncertain terms, that the horse had to go.

John and the farmer felt bad.  John because he suggested it and the fellow for selling it to us saying that never happened before.  It didn't help it when I said it will never happen again on our buggy.  The Lord was watching over as Anna and Hannah could have been killed.

When he came to pick his other horse up, he gave us our money back - which I did not refuse.  When he left, Anna took the money out of my hand and said the next horse we buy - WE are going to look at it.  After looking at horses people told us they had for sale, we went to an auction.

Now at horse auctions, that is considered a man's job.  Ladies, especially Amish, very seldom look at the horses.  At these auctions ladies usually sit and chat.  Not this time !!!  Anna and I went from horse to horse, both Anna and I asking questions.  Some of the sellers thought it was odd that I let Anna look a horse over and ask questions.  One of our friends was teasing me, when I told him what happened and why Anna was picking this one out - I really blew it last time.  When it came to the auction itself, we purchased the horse Anna picked out.

It turned out to be a good choice.  We have had it for a few weeks and everything has gone fine.  Anna has driven it and there were have been no problems.  It even likes our older horse.

Michael is laughing so hard as he is putting this on, he has tears running down his face - he thinks it's funny.  I guess it is, but it sure wasn't at the time.

Trust God's Wisdom,
Elmer

P.S.
Today is International Women's Day
Also it is my Mother's Birthday, but she is with the Lord, now.