tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527434627416065375.post689359783609002901..comments2015-09-29T13:23:12.317-07:00Comments on Jim Ainsworth: A Christmas Star and ScarJim Ainsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18240405075941678085noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527434627416065375.post-8710105257050086912011-12-31T09:04:51.697-08:002011-12-31T09:04:51.697-08:00Jim, I had a beautiful grulla mare that i had boug...Jim, I had a beautiful grulla mare that i had bought as a wild untrained two year old and raised and trained into a really beautiful cow horse and brood mare. We had a series of flashy paint colts which sold like hotcakes for good money, but I didn't much care for paints. I switched studs and got a beautiful red lineback dun filly. But the next year, as sometimes happens, we missed. I blame the west nile virus or the vaccine or both. But the next year brought an amazing grulla filly, my dream horse. I named her Tequila Mockingbird. The night the foal was three days old, a huge line of thunderstorms came up from the southwest with lightning, hail and high winds. the horses had a good strong shed to stay out of the weather. The next morning, I grabbed my son and headed out to see if we still had a ranch left. My four-wheel drive cut deep ruts in the half mile of caliche to the barn, bunkhouse, shed and corrals. The two year old red dun was at the corral by herself and was pacing back and forth frantically. I couldn't see the mare and foal. We slowly eased the truck around the ranch road, hoping against hope to see two heads pop up out of the tall native grass.<br />Instead, I saw four feet pointed to the sun. The mare lay dead, struck by lightning. The smell of burnt flesh was horrible. Thirty feet away lay the dead foal. She had apparently been nursing when the bolt struck. My son and I stood in the wet pasture and added our tears to the mud. Nothing is left there to remind anyone of what happened. Nature had removed all traces of that tragic night. The lightning seared the memory into my heart.<br /><br />Steve TurnerDoc Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03771622965389391657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527434627416065375.post-7487128532532343102011-12-12T11:19:31.663-08:002011-12-12T11:19:31.663-08:00What a wonderful visit with the River's family...What a wonderful visit with the River's family. I never get tired of reading about something they did. Thanks Jim.Charlotte Hilliardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12355736654078404364noreply@blogger.com