Getting started on a Blog is a difficult enterprise. What in the world do I want to say first? Of course, I want it to be interesting to other people. I want to share my thoughts and ideas, my triumphs and my challenges – my life, past, present, and future.
Horses are my life, and always have been. From the time I was a little girl, before I could even talk, I would ride in the car and point excitedly at the horses grazing in the fields as we drove by. As a child, I had recurring dreams of running as part of a herd of wild horses. I have always had a mystical connection to horses, and they to me, a magnetism that was undeniable. I inhaled every book I could find about horses, fiction and non-fiction. I rode every horse that I could get my hands on. It was this connection with horses that ultimately drove me to major in Equine Science in college. I wanted to know everything I possibly could about horses, but more than that, I wanted to simply be around them.
I love all horses, but the “big guys” are my favorites. As far as I am concerned, black Percherons are the ultimate in grace, beauty, and intelligence. My riding horses are often Percheron crosses, or what some refer to as a “Percheron Sport Horse.” They are also known as American Warmbloods. In the old days, they use to call them “Heavy Hunters,” because they crossbred them to produce a big-boned riding horse, thinking that they would have less chance of breaking down on a hunt course.
Currently, I have four horses in my stable. Two of them are Percheron Sport Horse geldings that I bred specifically to be my personal riding/driving horses. Another is a registered Percheron mare. Last, but certainly not least, I have a Palomino Quarter Horse mare. (I know, you must be wondering how the Quarter Horse fits in! But that’s a story for another time.)
I have stopped breeding horses. It concerns me that there are so many horses that are thrown away, that so many good horses end up at slaughter. I do not want to contribute to that in any way, and so I have stopped adding new horses to the world in the hope that some of the ones that are already here have a better chance at finding a good home with someone to love them. I have also stopped breeding because I have never had good luck with trying to sell any horse that I caused to be brought into this world. I am now of the mind (though I did not think this way in my younger days) that I should be responsible for the horses I breed for their entire natural lives. It occurs to me that, if every breeder felt this way, maybe there wouldn’t be such a glut of unwanted horses — perfectly good horses that, through some weird twist of fate and no fault of their own, end up in a terrifying place at the end of their lives, abandoned by the very people they trusted.
Horses are good for people. I have watched the most timid child open up to a horse, and the most egotistical adult humbled by a horse. I have learned a lot about myself from my horses, and some of my best friendships have come about through my connection with horses. I have lived in the world of horses all my life. When everything else in my life has changed, horses have been the constant. And though my role in the horse world has grown and evolved in the past 30 years, I expect that, in some way or another, horses will always be in my life. They have given me so much, taught me so much, loved me unconditionally, and even saved my life a time or two. I just think that it’s time to return the favor.