The Inn at Grace Farm

Isn't this an impressive place?  I've always thought so, but never have I stepped foot on the grounds until the other day when my friend and I stopped in, trying to keep this pony safe.  He got loose out of his confined area and there wasn't anyone around to know....until we drove by.



We parked in the driveway and got out immediately trying to coax the pony to remain in the rear of the lot.  This was NOT an easy task at all, even with the two of us.  Although, it may have been a little easier if I wasn't carrying my camera at the time ;)



He kept running from one back side to the other, which is quite the stretch of area.  My friend and I remained apart, he on one end and I on the opposite {except in this top photo, obviously I was right there behind}.  There is a number to call by the door, so I called it; seemed the right thing to do and it was.  The woman on the other end of the line was the owner.  She made arrangements for her husband to come...but we didn't know that until he showed up a little later.

While we were trying to coax this young wild beaut, the other horse who remained in it's fenced area, was having a hissy-fit.  She was running back and forth with a loud whinny-snort.  I think she was highly unimpressed with the carrying on of the naughty one - HIGHLY unimpressed.





There were a few times where my friend was able to get really close to him but he had no way of leading the pony back.  Little naught kept letting my friend get an inch away and then he'd run; almost as if he was enjoying the cat/mouse game.



At one point, my friend {who is familiar with stubborn horses} went to the car to retrieve a bag of chips; thinking that it would gain the pony's interest enough and he might be able to lead it back to the stall door.  He was right, kind of.  In the photo below, he had the bag in his right hand, shaking it and crinkling the plastic.  Obviously the pony was interested, but he caught on to the plan and before he was to the end of the rock wall....he was already making a detour.





At some point, I ended up in the back of the building when my cell phone rang.  It was the momma calling to suggest that we go grab the oat bucket and lead the pony to the stall.  Not sure why we hadn't thought of that but just as my friend went over to get it, the pony ran off into the back woods where I couldn't see it.  It was then that I thought to pray about it.  You know, prayer doesn't always have to be this dramatization of words.  It doesn't have to be only when we're really feeling down and out, or when some horrid event has occurred in the life of another.  To me, there is always a thankful beginning to prayer.  God has put something on your heart for a reason, and for that alone...I am thankful.  So, I just mentioned simply how I'd like to see the horse safe, back where it should be, before we had to leave {because time was running short and we would need to get to our buses}.

About two minutes after I lifted that prayer up to God, I heard my friend say that someone had just pulled in.  It was a man, not the woman that I spoke with.  I came to understand that the man was her husband.  Funny though, he asked me how I got his wife's cell phone number.  Do you remember, after what I've written here?

It wasn't from this sign, below.....NO!  And, honestly, this was the last picture that I took before we left.  I took it so I could show my husband where we had been.  Worst part is that I never even noticed the telephone number on the sign!!  It wasn't until I was showing my husband all of these, last night, that I saw the number.  It was probably a good thing, too.  If I had seen this number, I would have called and, most likely, received an answering machine.  I also may not have found the other number by the door.