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Tinni, the Best Horse, Ever
Tinni, my oldest horse, was, as of September, 2009, my best teacher. In this AIHA article, I continue to sing his praises.
Susan Tilley has described horses that you can trust with your life, or those of a neighbor kid with, as Steady Eddies. In every way, shape and form, Tinni is our Steady Eddy. In appearance, he’s striking, in a you gotta love Icelandics kinda way. He’s jet black, with a thick mane and tail. Signs of age now include some grey hairs on his forehead, and a slightly sagging underside. He’s incredibly calm, but quick to move if so inclined.
This summer, 18-year old Tinni crossed streams, scrambled up steep cliffs, and remained oblivious to what he considers to be road riff raff; dump trucks, motorcycles, and cement trucks included. And both Raudi and Siggi – learned from his gentle nips and butt bumps to be less pushy.
This past May we decided to train Tinni to pull a cart, with the end goal being that we’d participate in an upcoming neighborhood wedding. Pete and I refurbished an old cart and harness, and with the help of several members of the Driving Me Buggy Society, trained Tinni to drive. But three days before the August event, Aubrey (the bride) instead elected to ride Tinni to the wedding site.
On August 25, the morning of the wedding, a neighbor, Samantha, age 11, and her grandmother Pat helped me bathe Tinni. After drying him off with a large white fleecy bath towel, we braided marigolds into his shiny mane and tail. Being true Alaskans, we improvised, using bread bag ties instead of rubber bands. Before saddling, I wrote “To Be Married” on one side of Tinni’s white saddle pad, and “Just married” on the other.
At 3 p.m. Aubrey stepped on the mounting block and climbed onto Tinni’s back. Then we slowly moved down the dirt road that separates our two properties. As we climbed the short, but steep hill leading to our destination, a bee buzzed around Aubrey’s colorful flower headband. Tinni, who is bothered by bugs, stopped every few feet in order to let Aubrey readjust her wedding gown. He grazed quietly during the ceremony, seemingly oblivious to the onlookers. After, horse, bride and groom, and the other 100 or so people in attendance walked downhill, to the reception area.
Once the reception was in full swing, I took Tinni
home. Together, Samantha and I cleaned the enclosure. gave all three horses
water and hay, and removed the marigolds from Tinni’s mane and tail.
Finally, I gave my beloved Steady Eddy a big hug and his favorite food,
a dried out hotdog bun.
Arctic Arrow Solstice Gathering
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