Bring in the "Big Horses"...

Ed has been asking me for quite some time to "blog" about his new found love...His Belgians. Our life in Taylor wouldn't be complete without them, and so it is only appropriate to tell the story behind these beautiful animals that have become part of our family.

In the spring of 2006, while building our home in Taylor, we lived in a tiny, 2 bedroom, single-wide trailer towards the front of our property. We had planned to live in the home that existed on the property, but found it to be a horrible mess once we began digging into it, and decided otherwise...so we bought a temporary trailer to live in while we built. It was definitely an adventure!

While building, we met and worked with so many good people. Some touched our hearts and became some of our dearest friends.

When we first purchased the 5 irrigated acres of land, it was so overgrown with tall grass, it was almost scary to walk through for fear of what might be crawling, lurking, slithering, what every you want to call it, under your feet. And yes...there were a lot of snakes slithering about!!!


So, when Ed met Burnard, (the man that would be digging our septic tank) for the first time, they became fast friends. Burnard was excited to have a place to pasture his half dozen Percheron's for the winter, and Ed was excited to have the "lawn" mowed for free...(well, the idea of having all of the "big horses" and the opportunity to learn how to "DRIVE" these massive animals was, I am sure, a bit exciting as well.)

Burnard showing Ed how to harness a draft horse.

A "handshake" deal was made...Burnard would be allowed to pasture his horses for free in trade for some driving lessons for Ed. Ed was like a giddy little school boy...he was so excited!!

Later that spring, Ed received his first lessons in driving some of Burnard's massive Percheron's. They plowed Burnard's hay fields and mowed hay all summer long. It was so much fun to watch. We attended many outings and draft horse activities with Burnard and his wife Dianne over the next couple of years! We all had a lot of fun and met many wonderful people.




Burnard teaching Ed his first lessons...driving a for cart.


Burnard and Ed mowing the hay field.
Driving these animals has become a neat hobby for Ed. No one could have ever guessed that it would change our lives as well...

Our first ride in an open sleigh was after a winter storm about 4 years ago with Burnard and Dianne. We bundled up the kids and headed over to their ranch. I even took Waylon...he would have been just a tiny baby, but he was easy to bundle inside my big heavy jacket. He, I am sure stayed the warmest of all of the kids, and the movement of the sleigh kept him quiet and content. That was his first ride!

Burnard and Dianne spent a lot of time at the different horse and buggy auctions...some local, some which took them as far as Wisconsin. One day Dianne called (I think we were getting ready for church), "Ed, we found you a draft horse!" "Get here quickly so that we can bid on this prize!" she said! Anyone who knows me well also knows that I don't miss church very often...especially for a "mule" auction! But, this time I could see that it meant a lot to Ed and I was all about spending some time with my kids and husband, so we decided to go and see what Burnard and Dianne had discovered...To our surprise, a ten year old boy, confidently rode "Mattie", a large Belgian draft horse, out into the pen to be auctioned...how this horse ended up in a mule auction is still a mystery to us. She was massive! It was quite the sight to behold...partly because of her beauty and size but also because this little boy sat on her back with no saddle or proper reigns and maneuvered her like she was a friendly little pony! It was amazing. $600 later, Mattie was ours! She has been a joy ever since. I will admit, a first she intimidated me... A LOT...especially when one of the kids went anywhere near her!

Mattie's first hours at her new home...she is huge! Wyatt showing off her size and gentleness.
Mid-sized horses...Mattie...and miniature horses...the little grey horse figured out
that if he stood next to Mattie he had constant shade...he literally could walk underneath her belly!




Burnard and Ed worked with her a great deal. Later they would discover that they actually had seen her work at one of the draft horse conventions that was held at Burnard's house the prior spring. She is a very hard working horse and loves to work and drive...she works and drives with such confidence...head held up high, as though she is proud to do so for Ed!



Not long after, Dianne and Burnard called again...only this time they had found an inexpensive "Fore cart", a small cart which has two seats and is pulled behind the horse...the "hang up" in buying the cart so inexpensively was that it came with two more Belgian draft horses. What were we going to do with 2 more horses...let alone, draft horses!?! At the time we already had 2 miniature horses and a few other mid sized horses. The miniatures were a far cry from expensive to feed! They were easy for the kids to saddle up on their own, and less intimidating to me. So, when Ed asked me what I thought...it was very difficult to step outside of my "comfort zone" and tell Ed that I was OK with it. Burnard and Dianne didn't help any of course...when they told Ed that he could easily sell the horses, make some money and keep the cart, it only heightened the deal for Ed. So, once again, a deal was made, and we drove away with two more horses, Doc and Doll, and a new cart!


Wylee, Daddy, Doc and Doll with new for cart.



Mattie, Doc and Doll plowing back pasture.
Doc and Doll...we didn't know at the time what a very special pair of horses they would become to us and our little family!

Burnard and Ed, as I said before had a very neat friendship. They were two of a kind...always thinking up some new idea for a sleigh, wagon or whatever! Their great idea (because we didn't have any money to buy a wagon of our own), was to build one! This almost put me over the edge with this "New found hobby" of Ed's! When would he ever have time to actually build a wagon with his business, family and life in general? I would find out soon enough how miracles happen.

When Ed and Burnard got this wild idea to "build" a wagon for Ed, using an old McCormick Farmall running gear they found, I had already decided that I was no longer apart of the decision making and so I just watched from the side lines...they both were so happy and excited to build this wagon, that it made it very difficult to put in my two cents...which actually might have hurt their feelings if they really knew how I felt at the time...and so I kept these things to myself.
Farmall running gear...Burnard and Ed's "wagon project".

Over the next little while, Ed brought home some wood for the wagon amongst other things...he would work on it in the evenings when he would return home from work, with little Waylon right along side of him. When things were just too stressful at work, he would stay home and work on this project with his "little buddy". Waylon colored with daddy's pencil all over the wood, lost tools for him by packing them off, but all in all kept him company while he worked on his new project.

When I said before that these horses where about to change our lives, I wasn't exaggerating...

On March 13, 2008 our little, two year old son, Waylon passed away.

I could not have imagined then that Ed and Burnard's "project" or that these magnificent horses would carry one or our children to their final resting place! In Waylon's case, it only seemed appropriate...he loved these animals as much as his daddy and loved to help daddy whenever he could with the wagon.


Ed's work on the wagon before the accident didn't amount to a whole lot, so when I made the suggestion to Ed that it would be so much nicer to see Waylon carried home in something that he was familiar with and loved rather than an old hearse, I am sure that it only added more stress for him. But, it would soon turn out to be the one thing that kept his mind free from dwelling too much on the situation and the grief he was experiencing.

The turn out from numerous family members, neighbors, friends and the community to help with the "project" was unbelievable!
Uncle Billy making the box the seat will sit on...
Daddy, boys, and Uncle Billy attaching the pole to the wagon with newly donated tires and wheels from another dear friend... Daddy building the upper part of the wagon...
Before the box was attached to the Farmall running gear.

Primed the box...waiting for the red coat to be applied...
Wagon box painted...trying to figure out how to move the box on top of the running gear...
Sign made by Uncle Bill...

Test drive...Burnard and Wesley test the new wagon out with Doc and Mattie the day befor e the funeral... Waylon's funeral services...on our way to take him to the cemetary...
Burnard driving Doc and Doll to the Taylor Cemetary...
The "wagon" which was nothing more than the old Farmall running gear , and a few pieces of sanded wood before Waylon's death, turned into a beautiful red wagon in less than a week. We literally watched "God's hands" working His miracle before our very eyes.

Doc and Doll would have their first, sacred experience carrying very precious cargo...and it wouldn't be their last.


How does one give thanks for all of the special things that led up to such a magnificent event? We did not recognize many of these things that the Lord had given us as anything more than a "good deal" at the time. Of course we valued our friendships with Burnard and Dianne, but didn't realize that they would become such important people in our lives at that time either.

We all walk a time line if you will...what amazes me, is that the time line we all walk...it isn't ours at all. It is God's time line...and although we may influence it by some of our choices, ultimately, God is in control. Each event from purchasing this property in Taylor AZ so that we could build our home, to meeting Burnard and pasturing his horses, to Ed's love of draft horses and finding "great" deals on horses and wagon parts, would have ever led to a family, and community gathering together to build something that would not only serve our little man, but a handful of other families as well.


It wasn't long after, that "Waylon's Wagon" and Mattie and Doll, carried a mother and then another young child to their final resting places as well!

One of the other funerals Ed drove Doll and Mattie for...
Waylon's Wagon, and these three horses have spent the last few years providing service to our family, friends and our community...and how we love them for it!



One of the many occassions that Ed has driven for the Taylor's Historical Society benefits... Mattie, Doc and Doll getting ready to take the family for a nice Sunday Drive to the Cemetary...
Last year, Mattie and Doll both gave birth to fine, half Percheron, half Belgian babies. They are Ed's "new" project...I suppose that will have to be in the next chapter of "Bring in the Big Horses"....



Hank...( named after Hank Williams the old time country singer) born on Memorial Day last year...2009.