For the Love of Horses

I call this post For the Love of Horses 1 because there are so many great stories out there of people’s relationships with their horses and each other. I know there will be more posted here.

How great it is to be a child and be around horses. To learn responsibility, respect for animals and share love with one’s horse is something I had hoped to give to my children and grandchildren but it didn’t turn out that way.

Photo courtesy of http://reddingseniorportraits.com

I did get them a pony when they were very young, the pony turned out not to be what I had hoped. He was not kid friendly. It broke my heart to see theirs breaking when the pony finally had to go.

The following is a brief story of one family and their horses and the love they share between themselves.

By: Chris Hicks

My story is about three horses that are so loved and so misunderstood.

My grand-daughter Savannah has a love affair (she is nine) going on with a race horse named Lunacy. After being in the racing industry for well over twenty years, race horses have a tendency to earn their names. Lunacy is not an exception of that. She rears, bucks, bits, and is hard to catch, even in a very small stall.

Savannah goes into her stall every day, brushes her, feeds her, and picks her feet so that the grooms don’t have to deal with her when it comes time to take her out to the training track. I have a picture that says it all. Lunacy loves Savannah and Savannah loves her right back.

The sad truth about race horses is that they are athletes but they certainly don’t get the love and affection that should be well deserved. They are a commodity to toss away when their usefulness is gone. We hope to adopt Lunacy when her racing days are over and make her a loved member of our family and Savannah’s heart.

Our second horse is a Gypsy Filly named Fancy Pants. She is considered a Gypsy Cob and is much taller than most Gypsy horses in the US. She tops out at almost sixteen hands as a three year old.

Many people tell us that she is a Drum Horse but since her parents on both sides are Gypsy horses that pretty much makes her a Gypsy as well. She is my husband’s other wife. She hugs him, guards him, and generally loves him when I don’t. Although not jealous of me when I am around, you can tell who she would rather be with when we are at the fence. I am always her second choice, of course, unless I have cookies.

From the very first time that she was saddled, this gentle bred horse has been quiet, honest and not afraid. She has never offered to buck, bite or run off. Because she knows that she is loved, she has no reason to be offensive or abrasive and she never has been. Last year at the OK State Fair she did steal a candy apple that a little girl was carrying as she walked in front of Fancy. Fancy thought, “What the heck, I’ll just take a little bite” and ended eating it all. OOPS!

Our Third Horse is a Drum Horse, which is any feathered Draft Horse (Shire or Clydesdale) crossed with a Gypsy Horse.

His name is Big Sky Orion. We call him BSO or Shrek. He was a rescue horse. After being sold for $16,000 as a two-year-old, he was brought to OK where his owner abandoned him at the local college. He was sent to a sale that sells horses by the pound. We purchased him at $700 and have never ever regretted buying him.

He is sweet beyond belief, a great ride and a loving partner. He is also a 1700-pound stallion and the most polite stallion we have ever handled. He stands next to mares and doesn’t scream at them, doesn’t create a fuss in the trailer when riding with them and is a man’s-man at the shows.

We have been blessed with wonderful horses and trust me; we have re-habilitated a lot of horses over the years that just needed some love and tenderness. And of course, some horses brought to us that were just too far gone to help. We miss them and remember every single one.

I would love to send you pictures of these three wonderful beauties and Savannah of course who is a gymnast and doing very well. We are very proud of her.

First published in April 2010 on the Divine Caroline blog