My Love of Horses

Yes, I was one of those horse crazy girls that you might have heard of. I collected Breyer Horses instead of Barbies. I looked out the window on road trips and imagined myself galloping on a horse, jumping over fences, keeping my steed along side the car.

And one summer when I was eight years old after day camp, my mom took me to a miniature donkey farm to meet a pony named Star. He came home with us and I renamed him Stardust, since he was dusty in color and his star was tiny.

Yes, that's me in the pigtails next to my beautiful pony. That little Welsh/Shetland Pony was my best friend. It's always sounds cliche, but it's true. I whispered secrets to him and shared laughs when the oats got stuck to his teeth and him trying to get them unstuck. We went on adventures on the nearby Christmas tree farm and he taught my four younger siblings how to ride.

When I was getting too big for my pony and still yearned to ride, I did a lease on a Polish Arabian mare, Taliesa. Here's a photo of a common autumn adventure with my youngest brother on Stardust, me and my sister riding double on Taliesa, and my golden retriever, Ginger, tagging along for a ride on the Christmas tree farm.

Taliesa was a good girl, when she wasn't spooking and me falling off to the side, but when Stardust passed I gave her back to her owners.

I forget how long a time passed, but I started craving a horse of my own again. Then one day I saw an ad in the local paper of a white 14hh mare for $800 with her bridle and saddle blanket. That's when I met Amazing Grace "Gracie" the Welsh/Arabian mare.

When she first came home, she would shy and jump if I waved at someone while on her and was skittish around men. After time she realized that she was in a safe place and could trust me.

After a couple years of Gracie hanging out with a beef cow or two, I saw a sign on the road to my local community college of a pony for sale. That's when Lady came into the family. She was the cutest bay Welsh Pony with blaze and socks, and a tail so long it seemed to summon gatherings of thistles.

A couple Christmas's ago, Lady went to make a little girl very happy. She went into the yard Christmas morning to see a bay mare with a blaze and socks with bows in her mane and tail as her Christmas present. She was her real life Breyer horse and Lady has new friends now that Gracie has passed.

I'm still the horse crazy girl, even though I don't any horses now, but they still live in my heart.

If you have any stories you'd like to share of a memory of your horse/pony or one you've met/ridden, I'd love to hear about it in the comments!