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Comment by Sindy on March 14, 2012 at 1:02pm

In 2005, I moved to Washington State for work.  I left behind my family, Mom, brothers, sisters, even my grown children.  My husband found work as a dedicated run truck driver, but he was gone 6 days a week.  Within 18 months, I was an emotional wreck.  I couldn't go to the grocery store and buy food for just one.  I would become so overwhelmed I would leave the store in tears.  One day I found myself sitting on the couch literally listening to the clock tick.  I decided I needed to find something to do with my time.  I have loved horses all my life and now at 50 I had the time to spend with them. I decided I wanted to find a horse rescue to volunteer at.   The only problem was I was new to the area and didn't know my way around and the closest equine rescue I could find was 2 hours away.  Using the internet, I found a nearby stables and contacted the owner about doing volunteer work around his barn.  We made an appointment to meet and discuss what I wanted to do.  Within five minutes of meeting the owner, I was signed up for lessons, leased a horse and was more excited than I had been in years.  This was in September of 2006.  In October of that year the owner got a horse in named Bud.  He is a half draft/half appaloosa, who was a pack horse for his previous owner, but was also broke to ride.  He was 26 when I met him.  Long story short, Bud and I hit it off immediately.  He is the most patient of horses, an excellent teacher, with still enough attitude to make you pay attention, even now.  In December of 2006 the owner and his wife gifted me with Bud for Christmas.  This is one of the most precious gifts, next to my kids that I have ever received.  I can remember calling my husband and being so excited that I finally had a horse of my own.  We rode almost everyday for the next two years.

I still have Bud, he is 31 now.  While I can no longer ride him, I let a young teenager and a six year old girl help with the care of him.  Rebecca comes everyday and grooms and rides him at least three times a week and Mckenna comes on Sundays with her mom to groom and lead him around or ride with Mom's help.  I think Bud likes still having a job.  I know he adores the girls and perks up when they get to the barn.

Comment by Jan Laraman on March 14, 2012 at 12:59pm

My friend talked me into breeding my mare for the 2nd time, after a disasterous 1st attempt.  The stallion was in training at her barn and she was so taken with his great mind and talent, that she thought he would be a wonderful match for my mare.  She's a breeder, herself, and I respect her instincts. 

Several years earlier, my mare; a beautiful horse, inside and out, gave birth to a filly, born 5 weeks early.  Let's just say it was Murphy's Law of breeding.  What ever could go wrong, did. 

After much thought, soul searching and debate with myself, I decided to try again.   It didn't start out well.  The mare wouldn't catch, then she developed an infection from all the ultrasounding.  I thought, "what am I doing?".   But as luck would have it, the infection was cleared up, and she was finally in-foal.   11 months later, out came a big, beautiful colt.  He's now 5 years old, and showing the same great mind and talent that his Dad has.   He's the equine love of my life.  I just adore him.    

Comment by Alison Martin on March 14, 2012 at 12:51pm

Growing up, I practically lived at barn. I was out their so often, my coach and her husband began to refer to me as their adoptive daughter. I rode all the horses at the farm, but had a special connection with the one mare in particular. She and I clicked;  both equally stubborn, spirited and driven.  I had always wanted a horse, but could never afford one. On my 18th birthday, my coach and her husband threw me a surprise birthday party and gave me my mare.  We have been together for 7 years now.  Perhaps it wasn't luck, but hard work, determination, dedication and the supreme generosity from my adoptive parents, led to the best present in the world, my horse.

Comment by Lori Elverud on March 14, 2012 at 12:46pm

I had Rusty's dam and bred her to a really nice older Hannovarian stallion. One month after covering, the stallion was bitten by a spider on his head and died!! But, as luck would have it, she caught and in May on Mothers day the next year, Rusty was born. He is 13 this year and really coming into his own as a dressage horse. And he is the best baby sitter when my 4 year old daughter is around. He is a real gem!!!

Comment by Teresa Archuleta on March 14, 2012 at 12:34pm

 My husband and I had just recently decided to add horse back into our lives since all the kids had grown and moved on with their own lives. So I was just surfing the net looking at horses when I saw her, my Mia. It was a poor picture of her in her baby winter coat, standing in a muddy lot where the ranch weaned their babies into, but I knew right then that she was my horse. I told my husband that night that we were going to Kansas on Saturday to look at a horse. He thought I was crazy to drive 7 hours to look at a weanling but on Saturday we borrowed a trailer and drove 7 hours to the ranch in SE Kansas. It was a long day but I bought Mia Miss Print, a BS APHA bay filly. Mia had never even had a halter on before that day, she walked on the trailer like it was no big deal and we have been best friends ever since. When we got her home, it had been a long day for everyone, she walked off the trailer and immediately tried to kick my husband. He had his doubts for a moment but she has never offered to kick again, although even he knows that he is only tolerated in her space because he belongs to me and that is the only reason.

I spent alot of time with her them first 2 years.  I found that Mia would be an aggressive herd leader early and by the time she was 2 she was boss, so I had to make sure to keep it established that I was the leader and she could be second in command. When she turned 3 I sent her to a trainer for 60 days then started riding her myslef, she had never taken a sideway step with me. I know she can and will buck with another rider but for me she is sweet and attentive. She gives 100% everytime I step on.  

She is now 8, we are learning dressage together and having a wonderful time doing it. I wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. She is truely my best friend and a loyal partner.

Comment by Lynne Wiser on March 14, 2012 at 12:34pm

I needed to find a broke gaited horse so that I could ride...I looked for over a year when one day I saw an ad on the feed store board for a Peruvian Paso. I grabbed my girlfriend trainer to take with me as I am a horrible pity buyer. Well, poor guy was not in the best of places and my trainer friend says you gotta get him out of there! Of course I agreed. So I ended up with an unbroke 6 year old buckskin gelding...He had been previously removed from a man along with 5 other horses after the rendering man had gone to pick up multiple dead horses from this place and he told authorities...they went up and saw skin and bone horses one horse did not survive. And the rest were in horrible condition. They called my gelding Robbie and the local sheriff's posse and local veterinarians took care of these horses for months before they were sold at auction. Robbie was a favorite. The people I bought him from got him at the auction they held. But they never rehabilitated him. They just had him in a pasture with a collection of animals including a llama he was friends with. my girlfriend trainer took him for 30 days plan was if he would not work for me as I wanted a broke horse and he was not...that we would find him a suitable home but at the end of 30 he won her over completely and she said he has a huge heart and I think he will be perfect for you just take him and ride him...so I did. We remained him Azucar which is spanish for sugar as he is incredibly sweet for what was done to him. He had muscle damage form the starving and he had problems with his selenium levels. He was fearful of other horses and men....it took me about 8 months before another horse could ride close to me... I got crap from my friends for buying him until they would ride with me especially out on trails in the mountains... He carried me like I was gold and even if I was freaked out at the heights (seriously) he carried me faithfully and if I could not ride it he walked patiently behind me... my friends told me he is worth millions and I agree. I fear the abuse he suffered will affect this sweet boys futre and he will not live as long as he should....but I hope he will be happy for the rest of his days. Which he will spend here with his buddy horse Buddy...another pity buy lol but then that is another story. I love this little horse he has claimed a big part of my heart for sure. I hope to make all his days better than what he has come from.

Comment by Elizabeth Innes on March 14, 2012 at 12:31pm

I bred my TB, but sold him as a yearling.  I followed his racing career in Ontario and then, much to my chagrin I realized he had been sold to the United States and was running at Thistledown.  I called his trainer, but I was too late, he had already been sold for $400 to another trainer.  I contacted her, told her I had bred him and wanted to retire him; so we arranged to get him shipped back to Ontario.  He came back on Rick Bodie's 12 horse with 11 standardbreds.  I love him dearly and am very thankful to have him back with me.

Comment by Joan Morrison on March 14, 2012 at 12:31pm

While perusing horse sale ads I came across one for a black TWH that could be rather spooky. His price was a stretch so I had to dismiss any notion of buying him. About 4 months later the ad reappeared with a considerable reduction in price. I bought him sight unseen except for one photo. Fearful and jumpy best described him. I was at an absolute loss at helping him over his issues as conventional training wasn't working. It was when I started spending time with him at liberty and allowing him a say that he has turned into a confident, polite horse. He is the teacher, I am the student.

Comment by Lin Beaune on March 14, 2012 at 12:28pm

Luck is one of the things my Gus and I can share as what not only brought us together in 2003 but then reunited us in 2011. I found Gus on a rescue website (now closed in fall 2002) He was a big red dun PMU baby, with no white or clear markings. I choose a filly first and at the last minute switched the choice to Gus . He was a big scared furry baby when he arrived in March 2003, 10 months old and never been handled. It began a love affair that has never ended. The research that led me to Gus made me aware of the plight of the Americam Horse and in 2004 Epona Horse Rescue was founded by myself and family members. Fast forward to late fall 2004, I lost my job, Gus was now a stunning 2 yr old gelding. We had several horses at the rescue and no funding to feed them. I made the heartbreaking choice to sell Gus. He went to a good home and the  rescue was able to feed the horses. I kept in contact with his owners but they sold him in 2006.  I lost track of him and it was heartbreaking. Fastforward to April 29 2011.

I was at my local TSC to by a T-Post pounder. There was a flyer with a big red dun quarterhorse gelding. I thought "He looks familar, but that cannot be Gus, he is 200 miles from here.  I called the number, it was my Gus and he was for sale. I came home in tears and told my husband. A friend bought him back for me and he came home May 2, 2011.

Comment by Judy Reid on March 14, 2012 at 12:27pm

My husband & I had looked after our landlord's QH mare and Shetland pony for a couple of years while he was going through some family problems. We became quite attached to them, and the day he came and said he was taking them back to his farm, we were pretty bummed out. After about 2 weeks of looking into an empty field and barn, we decided to ask him if would be OK if we got a couple of horses of our own to fill the void that his had left. He had no problem with it so we began our search. The one thing we agreed on was that we were getting at least 2, and they had to be rescues. After searching the internet for local rescues, we found one less than an hour from home so proceeded to make arrangements to go and meet some horses. We gave the owner our criteria.....fairly healthy, ridable, and gentle. She picked a few out for us, we looked them over and decided on 2.....Jessie an older QH/Arab mare that had been a trail horse, and Clarence, a OTTB who had been bounced from piller to post over the years since retirement. Jessie had heaves and Clarence had some stiffness in his one hind leg, but nothing we couldn't handle. The day they were brought to us, we fell in love and haven't looked back!! We got Jessie on an all natural liquid supplement for heaves and as of last summer she showed no signs of them at all, and Clarence was on Glucosamine MSM & he now gallops around the field like he's still racing!! Over the course of the last 3 years we have had the landlords'  2 back, and then he bought another one, making it 5. Then my niece called and said she could no longer afford to keep her OTTB and could we take him? Of course we said yes, so into the family came Legz, making it a family of 6 equines. There was the usual getting used to other horses stuff, but after a while they all got along together, which was a good thing!! We are now back to just our 3, & all we do is ride them around the farm and they are so spoiled it isn't funny!! We will love them all unconditionally till their last days.....and I know they will do the same for us!!!

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