My Journey begins

I have been trying to get my thoughts together to better explain my Horse Journey I mentioned earlier. It is really a life’s journey changed forever by the act of including a horse in my life.

But what came first? Did the life change and the horse came into it? Or did the horse cause the life to change. Hard to say, but it was my husband, Joe, who opened the door for the horse.

We participated in a group where horses were included. One day he said, “I want a horse”. Having been around horses before I told him they took a considerable amount of time and money to care for. He persisted and I found a way for us to look after the horses of a friend while she recovered from surgery, thinking he would get the picture and loose interest. Well, that is exactly what happened….kind’a in a way…. He had bad hips and as it turned out it was uncomfortable for him to ride, but he discovered he had a connection with horses and even though he couldn't ride comfortably he still liked being around and caring for them.

Me, on the other hand, became completely immersed. At that time we were leasing a horse owned by the same friend and participating in the activities of the group. But I started down a different path becoming interested in the idea of shoeless and a more holistic approach to care. I soon felt a need to have a horse of my own.

I started shopping and found a horse for my sister, of all things. An American Saddlebred named Legend [the picture on the right]. He went to Vancouver, WA to live with her and I continued my search.

At the facility where the horses were boarded, there was a BLM Mustang who had been abandoned there. We called him Napoleon [the picture on the left] and he was what my imagination deemed the perfect Spanish Mustang. 14.3 hands, Bay with black points, white star and snip and 4 white feet with a perfect Roman nose. He was so substantial, that from a distance he looked like a draft horse. We fell in love.

He was the leader of the gelding band on 15 acres of Idaho desert. He ruled fairly but firmly. Never having been properly started or handled it was hard to gain his trust. We would always talk to him on our way out to catch the other horses and he would take a carrot from us now and again.

One thing lead to another and Napoleon became ours. We had to find a trainer that would help him become our partner and that led us to Jeff Spencer. To be continued…..