Stories

‘Patch Parker’ as I call him use to be a fine harness and park pleasure horse in the Southern states. He ended up in an auction pen in Kentucky before getting in a trailering accident that left his body with trauma. Thankfully the Saddlebred Legacy program was able to step in and save him.

One very warm August day two marvelous horses debarked a horse transport to stand in stalls in Houston, TX. Both horses loved working with our riders with disabilities. Each had favorites and our riders also had favorites.

Easter had a hard time finding his own place, and I so wanted to bring him home and keep him. But the timing still wasn’t right. He was enrolled in the Bluebonnet Rescue Horse Training Challenge. I was able to ride him, and then adopt him, at the competition.

I heard from my friend about “Days End Farm Horse Rescue” in Maryland and she mentioned they had gotten a few Arabians in so I went and checked them out. After I had a few visits it came down to my grey flea bitten Lucy.

When it came time to begin looking for a horse to call my own, I had enough experience in the horse world to understand exactly what I was looking for in a horse. Most importantly though, I knew I wanted to adopt a horse rather than buy one.

Suede was a huge blessing in my life and is a treasured member of my family, not just to me, but my daughter as well. She calls him mommy’s unicorn, and she loves when I let her take him for a spin. He has given me back my sense of self and has helped me reach the goals I had given up on.

Traveler is able to connect with our children with special needs through his own story. He is different than the rest of our herd, but the herd members accept him anyway. Our staff is able to talk about Traveler’s special needs and challenges with our participants and make connections with them.

JoJo is the right horse. And to think she would have taken the last trailer ride of her life, if it hadn’t been for Julie and her team doing what they do. I’m so thankful. Our barn is now full, and we are having fun camping, trail riding and making lots of memories.

We both felt like this was a sign from up above that Nevero was meant to be with me. I have used her in parades, drill team practice, trail rides and my “therapy” sessions when I’m having a bad day. Nevero has brought the joy of horses back to me that I thought I had lost.

Blue Blue Sea lived more than seven years after that diagnosis and brought me some of the best years of my life. People who have heard his story tell me that there seemed something akin to destiny to it all, that the two of us were meant to be together.

Since adopting Matty four and a half years ago, we have traveled to many shows and learned so much together. He truly is my heart horse and has taught me more than I could ever teach him.

When we went to pick him up it was one of the coldest days of the year. Savannah was so excited about her new friend she could barely stand the three hour drive. It was love at first sight and now the two of them are inseparable.