Heart Horses

Jen from Stories from the Saddle asks:

Do you currently have your "heart horse"? What makes a "heart horse" to you? If you don't own a horse, have you ever leased a "heart horse"?

I have been incredibly fortunate to have been blessed with the horses that have come into my life. Writing this has really highlighted that for me and it reiterates we may not get what we want at any given time, but we do seem to get what we need.

My first heart horse was a pony named Flicka. This sweet, forgiving pony was at the mercy of an unsupervised seven-year-old's imagination.












She was my race horse, my trick pony, my cross country adventure and my get-away partner in crime. I had over 100 acres of farm to explore and did so on my little super pony. Every little girl should have her Flicka.










 

I also was lucky enough to find Good And Cozy. We bought her as a just turning 4-year-old Thoroughbred. I challenged her to do all the things and she met the challenge (and I mean everything - English jumping and dressage, western pleasure, reining, trail, barrel racing, pole bending, etc.)  I loved Cozy so much, but I don't believe my teenage brain really appreciated the gem she was. Now as an adult and having experienced so many other horses in my life, I can now see just how lucky I was to have a horse like her.





 

Family.

Miss Tea is hands down THE heart horse. I know this is the result of owning her from a baby and going through so much personal struggles with myself and health issues with her. We know each other inside and out and she helped me through one of the toughest stretches of my life. I almost gave up on horses, and in choosing to work with her and complete her training, we made it to this incredible point together. We overcame our fears together and rely on each other in a way that nobody can understand. It is strange, when I look at her I don't even see a 'horse', more like a soul I know very well.




She always makes me smile! :)

And finally Savvy. She is the unexpected grasp on my hand and heart that I cannot shake off. I never liked Arabians. She is half arab. I have love of tall horses. She is 14.1. White? Really? How do you keep that clean? The moment she put her muzzle to my hand as I led her around when first meeting her, she had me. She has something special. She engages you, looks into you and wants to speak to you. She is the most "interested" horse I have ever come across. She wants to know/do/see/touch all the things!