100 Word Sentence

This was an interesting challenge in Creative Writing, we had to make a sentence that was exactly 100 words - and it had to be one sentence. We could connect it however possible as long as it flowed well and sounded good, he recommend the use of dashes, semicolons, etc. This did not have to be fiction, he recommended that it was something real because it was mostly an exercise in description. He wanted us to paint pictures with it. I thought I would share it with you guys... the people that read my blog... Dave & Mom, mostly, haha.


"When I saw Monty for the first time - his chestnut coat shining in the sun, a wonky shaped star on his forehead, his mane long with tangles and burs, and his ribs showing through his skinny body - I knew I had found my next horse, because there was a sparkle in his eyes; despite the years of abuse and neglect that he had gone through, there was a playful spirit about him - an attitude that suggested his bratty demeanor, and he looked at me as if he was daring me, challenging me to turn him into something more than this."


Now obviously, I took some liberties here. Monty was in excellent condition when I met him for the first time - Cathy, Sam, and everyone at the barn where he was kept had really taken stellar care of him. However when THEY found him he was in the sort of condition described above - after being neglected, covered in fungus, not well taken care of. The bit about his eyes, though - that's real.

A horse's eyes can say a lot about him, if you know what you're looking for. Monty's eyes are mischievous, intelligent, and kind.

He was diagnosed with ringbone two weeks ago - he's got bones growing in his hoof/lower leg in the joints in weird places that make it hurt him to walk. He's been off for what feels like most of the summer but it really has just been August. It isn't very bad, right now, but from my research it seems that there's no cure for it. They can slow down the development and make him comfortable, but it's a very serious sort of thing that will likely shorten his career significantly.

I want to have him forever. When he's too old, or in this new vision, when he's too lame, to be ridden anymore, he's going to live wherever I am. I'll put up a fence and he'll live in the backyard - he can retire happily just like Black Beauty. :)

I took this picture of his forehead sometime in the past year (because I took it with my iPhone, which I've had a little over a year). I'd guess sometime in the fall of 2008 or early 2009. It's one of my favorite pictures of him.