Before you get all freaked out nothing happed to either my two horses, with that said a story from the past that came back to haunt me.
I tried to buy this mare several times, but the owner wanted an outrageous amount of money for her. So over the years I kept trying to buy her, the owner kept asking a massive price, and I continued to cyber stalk this horse. I even tried to buy her after I already had the two horses I currently have. But it wasn't to be.
For a couple of years I put my cyber stalking away and concentrated on my two horses. But as I am half heartedly looking at new horses I decided to do a random google search on the owners name. Not only did her name came up, it came up in an ugly way. In 2010 she got reported for animal cruelty and 33 of her over 53 horses were seized. In 2011 she was charged, spent some time in jail(NOT NEARLY ENOUGH) told she couldn't ever own horses again(she shouldn't be allowed to have even a garden slug) and told to sell or rehome the other 20 horses that weren't in as bad of condition.
I freaked. What happened to my mare? Was she okay, did she have a new home? I contacted the rescue that the first 33 were sent to and they kindly checked their records but my mare wasn't among them. Sucking in all my anger I emailed the previous owner, thinking sometimes it takes awhile to rehome that many horses. She didn't have my mare, and I couldn't bear to ask the hard questions.
My hope is that my lovely girl got a new home. Someplace where she is loved, and spoiled as I would want her to be. I hold on to that hope even with the dark things that can and do happen to horses everyday looming in the back of my mind.
Awhile back when I told everyone I was retiring my beloved High Queen my younger sister gave me this half horrified look and asked what I was going to do with her. I blinked, totally confused. "Do with her?" I asked. My sister asked if I was going to sell her, or give her away. I blew out a little breath and calmly quoted the line from Sea Biscuit. "You don't throw a whole life away just because its a little banged up."
Unable to ride Seneca or not she has a home with me forever. This is why I can't lease horses I grow too attached and don't want to give them back. I wish I had tried harder to talk my AQHA mare's owner down to a reasonable price. I wish I'd had the money she wanted for her. I wish so many things, but most of all I wish there weren't so many horrible people in the world that don't realize the kind of life they subject an animal to when that animal has no choice.
Before I made that fateful Google search I had set up an appointment to go look at two mares this weekend. Both are strangely enough AQHA mares. One is a little buckskin that has had little handling and isn't broke. The other is an Appendix mare that's had some riding time on her. I felt almost guilty, and for awhile I wasn't sure I was still going to go. But I realized no matter how much I missed the little sorrel mare from my past she was gone and I had to let her go. I had to move forward. There are other horses who need love too.
Keep it between the flags everyone.
Several years ago I leased an AQHA mare from a woman that we had bought an ApHC mare from for superhubs(he has an obsession with Appys). I fell in love with this mare. She was 14.3hds of the sweetest mare I have ever ridden. She started me in eventing since she wasn't scopey enough for jumpers, or fancy enough for hunters. The kind of horse that is willing to go anywhere, and do anything. Plus she loaded on any trailer in any conditions(Giving the High Queen the evil eye right now).
I tried to buy this mare several times, but the owner wanted an outrageous amount of money for her. So over the years I kept trying to buy her, the owner kept asking a massive price, and I continued to cyber stalk this horse. I even tried to buy her after I already had the two horses I currently have. But it wasn't to be.
For a couple of years I put my cyber stalking away and concentrated on my two horses. But as I am half heartedly looking at new horses I decided to do a random google search on the owners name. Not only did her name came up, it came up in an ugly way. In 2010 she got reported for animal cruelty and 33 of her over 53 horses were seized. In 2011 she was charged, spent some time in jail(NOT NEARLY ENOUGH) told she couldn't ever own horses again(she shouldn't be allowed to have even a garden slug) and told to sell or rehome the other 20 horses that weren't in as bad of condition.
I freaked. What happened to my mare? Was she okay, did she have a new home? I contacted the rescue that the first 33 were sent to and they kindly checked their records but my mare wasn't among them. Sucking in all my anger I emailed the previous owner, thinking sometimes it takes awhile to rehome that many horses. She didn't have my mare, and I couldn't bear to ask the hard questions.
My hope is that my lovely girl got a new home. Someplace where she is loved, and spoiled as I would want her to be. I hold on to that hope even with the dark things that can and do happen to horses everyday looming in the back of my mind.
Awhile back when I told everyone I was retiring my beloved High Queen my younger sister gave me this half horrified look and asked what I was going to do with her. I blinked, totally confused. "Do with her?" I asked. My sister asked if I was going to sell her, or give her away. I blew out a little breath and calmly quoted the line from Sea Biscuit. "You don't throw a whole life away just because its a little banged up."
Unable to ride Seneca or not she has a home with me forever. This is why I can't lease horses I grow too attached and don't want to give them back. I wish I had tried harder to talk my AQHA mare's owner down to a reasonable price. I wish I'd had the money she wanted for her. I wish so many things, but most of all I wish there weren't so many horrible people in the world that don't realize the kind of life they subject an animal to when that animal has no choice.
Before I made that fateful Google search I had set up an appointment to go look at two mares this weekend. Both are strangely enough AQHA mares. One is a little buckskin that has had little handling and isn't broke. The other is an Appendix mare that's had some riding time on her. I felt almost guilty, and for awhile I wasn't sure I was still going to go. But I realized no matter how much I missed the little sorrel mare from my past she was gone and I had to let her go. I had to move forward. There are other horses who need love too.
Keep it between the flags everyone.
