Billy

I made reference in a recent post to the fact that I had never paid more than $5,000 for a car.  This seems to have been my successful number for finding a good used car that maximized the balance between expense and usefulness.

Billy Black Shoes.  A beautiful semi-retired stallion who has had over 200 registered foals in Paint and Pinto breeds.  Billy is as gentle as Mr. Ed which is unusual in a stallion. He can also talk just as well, at least he was a master of communication even if he doesn't speak English.  Billy is definitely on my list of BFF.  We spent many hours together talking things over.

Billy once took second place in a reining competition and loves to spin, slide, and perform the other reining maneauvers.  For those not familiar with a spin here is a short video.

Billy showing off

Imagine my family's surprise when I  told them that I had spent $6,000 for the privilege of bringing Billy home to live with me.  (I'm not sure that any of us really own horses, we just get to share their lives and make some of their major decisions.)  My family was shocked that their conservative, frugal mother would spend so much on a horse!  It was almost unfathomable to their minds. 

To me the rational was plain and simple:  both are forms of transportation and one reproduces and the other doesn't. From a financial standpoint one would give me a return on my investment and the other would not, a car is strictly a depreciating asset. There are some noteable exceptions, of course, for Mustangs (named after horses), Corvettes, and other models that draw attention 20 years later and better hold their value but they still cannot reproduce.

When I moved from the ranch Billy has made a new home in the area and enjoys the vast pastures of his well earned retirement and has been able to take a trip to the beach to run on the sand.

This is one of Billy's progeny who also was used as a breeding stallion for a time and now is Angie's BFF. 

Wiley Coyote and Angie

This is the mystery and amazing thing about creation.  Trees, plants, and animals all are able to produce after their kind.  When we choose to invest our skills and time as managers of most agricultural pursuits most of what we invest can double in one years time with little help from us.  Far above the monetary considerations is the JOY, BEAUTY, and WONDER that they add to our lives.