Our youngest son Daniel loves horses. Thanks to neighbors Bill & Lea Heib who took him under their wing ( or saddle ) when he was young and taught him how to train horses and shoe them, he has been able to pursue his passion for horses and earn a living for his family. He is an inspiration to me in so many ways, and of course as a mom I cannot claim to be unbiased in this, but really, he is an amazing son. In this picture ( above) he has saddled up 2 horses and he and our daughter's oldest daughter are on their way to riding into the low hills and mountains in the distance. This is special to our granddaughter, she has no other outlet for her love of horses and riding except her Uncle Daniel.
For awhile our son was into rodeo and did some bull and bronc riding. I had a hard time watching and the last few times he rode bulls I told my husband to go and video it and if my son survived I'd watch the video. It was that hard for me to watch .
Uncle Daniel took his niece turkey hunting too. The country around his home is teeming with wild turkeys , and he and our granddaughter were up early mornings to hunt. As you can see, she was successful , and boy howdy was she ever ! Thanks Uncle Daniel. ( The turkey and deer our family get after successful hunts really do go into our freezers and feed us throughout the winter .)
Daniel dearly loves his wife and her parents. I don't recall the reason , maybe there was no particular reason except Daniel knew his father-in-law would be happy, but one winter day Daniel saddled up his horse, his father-in-law's horse ( kept at Daniel's place ) and rode several miles into the small town near-by where his in-laws live. He knocked on their door, got his happily surprised father-in-law out to saddle up and the two of them rode into town, tied the horses up at a small café, and had breakfast together. Yes, I really do love my cowboy.
I simply cannot end this post without a small tribute to the man who inspired and taught our son so many skills regarding horses and life. Bill Heib made a difference in our son's life, and because of the world of horses ( Morgans ) ,Daniel met and married his wife Breezy. The two of them are still madly in love with each other after over 13 years of marriage and the positive impact they have on me and others in our family makes a real difference for the better. They are both very hard-working, kind, and generous. Bill died last year, his wife Lea is still our neighbor, and I thank God for them every time I think of how much of an impact horses and the people who love them have had on our family for the better.
Yes, I love my cowboy !
