Monday, February 14, 2011

A Very Special Horse

Now here's a story from someone who is in looooove with her horse. Perfect for Valentines Day if you as k me.



http://winterstormranch.blogspot.com/

Very special horse -

I bought my dream horse back in 2009, she was a beautiful 2001 AQHA Dun mare. I have always loved the duns but always chose quality of color. She was going to be my very first registered horse to I was so excited.

I had rode her a year before I bought her and knew she was started but wasn't broke. She was very hard to catch and was very shy but soon are bond grew stronger and stronger.

The lady that had her offered her to me in foal for a whopping 2500 on payments. I brought her home and we began bonding like no tomorrow. I ended up boarding her a self care place and it was the greatest thing that ever happened.

She learned to trust me, she learned to accept new things and she became easier and easier to be caught. I met a trainer down there and he began working with us. By this time I had trained my mare to so far that I was letting a beginner student of his ride her. We were in training from Jan. to April and then I took her home not knowing when she would foal.

By this time we were walk/trot in the round. pen with nothing on, and she was running barrels and loving it. Now if I could figure out the barrels we would be unstoppable.

I had gotten so comfortable on her that I was loping bareback something I had never done in my life. I turned her out to pasture hoping she was going to foal but no such luck. I started riding her at home and she was loving the attention.

However when the 4th of July rolled around I knew she was safer in a stall then at home so I took her back to the stables. She spent another month there and then I took her home. The day we left I was riding her with no problem walk/trot/lope and the next day I went out to find a nice colt on the ground.

This was Aug. and so I decided only to do light riding and such until start of the new year. However in Feb. we loaded her up and took her to get bred she was only supposed to be gone for a month but things happened and I didn't get her home until May. It was so hard not having her home but my only option was to give her to my mom on a foal lease since I had lost my job.

Luckily I got a new job and I worked 8 on 6 off, mom waited for me to be home to go get her. We pulled into the meeting spot and waited for the lady that was dropping her off get there. Once she got there and unloaded my mare she took one glance in my direction and started nickering about pulling the person over that had her in hand.

She trotted up to me and stuck her head in my lap, I could barely get the halter off and put mine on. I had tears in my eyes this was the first horse in my whole life that had ever done that and it really proved how bonded she was to me.

We have gone on our first real trail rides together over the weekend and she did wonderful. We went out onto the beach and for a horse that has never seen the ocean she walked right up over the crest and onto the beach without a second thought. And to think the bench on the trail scared the living day lights out of her lol.

For the first time in my life I leaned forward and let her go in a wide open space, never having the confidence in myself or my horse to do such a thing. We flew down the beach with tears in my eyes thinking of all the memories we will build together over many years to come.

I could never thank my mom enough for taking her on and making sure I had her even through the tough times. Her name is Dolly Doc Springs AKA Dolly and she fits the name perfect.

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