BEHIND THE HORSES TAIL

Picture yourself seated in an Amish Family buggy after an invitation from new friends to take a ride. The connection between the horse and the buggy is so close it seems that you are almost able to touch the horse. You are right “behind the horses tail”.

The ride through the lush countryside near the little town of Emma is exhilarating. You are traveling slow enough so that you can greet people along the way. You have time to think and talk and enjoy the manicured farm lands

Bud, the 17 year old part Morgan horse keeps the buggy moving at an even clip. Occasionally, its owner softly utters a word sounding like “jeez” to encourage Bud to keep the trotting tempo at a uniform speed. We could not tell the difference but the driver could. The steady sound of “clip-clock” along the road reminds you that you are still “behind the horses tail.” The driver sits on the right side and there is no window for him, but I sat next to him and there was a glass pane in front of me so I didn’t worry too much about being right “behind the horses tail.”

As you turn a corner you don’t have to worry about slowing down as you are not going fast enough to make a difference. You soon become mesmerized by the world moving so slow by you. You wonder out loud about trading a truck for a horse and buggy and the owner says “not a fair deal– for you.” A new family size buggy could cost as much as $5000 and a young, spirited horse would sell for around $1500 at the weekly auction sale in Shipshi. That’s abbreviation for us “locals’ here in Shipshewana, Indiana.

It’s obvious that living “behind the horses tail” ones life is in the slow lane. There is more time with your family because you are not all going in different directions and you are spending more time together. There are moments when we comment about the advantages of this living style.

We met Bud’s owners, Fritz and Norma Bontrager one June day in 2007. They had met my sis and brother-in-law years before and when they found out we were in the area they contacted us. They invited us to supper and soon we were enjoying our visit out on the covered porch. They showed us their 30,000 chickens and explained how they convinced the Bishop of their District house church to allow them to obtain a diesel engine to generate power to run the cooling fans. Fritz also works in the mobile home business making base cabinets for the kitchens.

Next, we met them in a wide spot in the road, a town called Emma, for a traditional Amish supper in the town restaurant. The restaurant is in a corner of the General Store which was built in 1931. It’s typical rural, small town atmosphere. Norma and Fritz have three daughters and two sons. The sons have their own cars but the three girls still ride “behind the horses tail.”

We had a grand time visiting with them and learning more about their culture. The main meal was new to us– ham loaf. This is a common item that is like a meatloaf but includes three kinds of meat: ham, sausage and hamburger. Very tasty.

Our ride “behind the horses tail” ended a nice visit and as we sped home in our truck, we watched in the rear mirror as our Amish friends “clip-clocked” back to the farm.