{"id":38152,"date":"2025-01-20T14:14:44","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T14:14:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/adventure\/on-losing-a-heart-horse-and-horse-ownership\/"},"modified":"2025-01-20T14:14:44","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T14:14:44","slug":"on-losing-a-heart-horse-and-horse-ownership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=38152","title":{"rendered":"On losing a heart horse and horse ownership"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

What a weird world we are living in right now. Never in a million years
\ndid I ever expected to be in the situation where our barn was closed and it was
\nmandated to not see our horses. For readers in other countries, in Canada and
\nspecifically my province, we have heavy fines for indoor recreation (including
\nrecreation) and just today most outdoor recreation spaces our closed. Our
\ngoverning bodies in the equine industry have strongly recommended all barns
\nclose to all but essential services (and this EXCLUDES horse owners unless they
\nprovide care that is essential to the animal\u2019s lives). <\/p>\n

This is not a gripe at the barn \u2013 they absolutely did the right thing. I
\nam so impressed with my barn staff that have stepped up and taken on many
\nadditional tasks done by horse owners to get through this time. <\/p>\n

I was just reflecting on my horse life and realized I haven\u2019t shared
\nsome updates on that front. Perhaps because they were difficult, but I think it\u2019s
\ntime. <\/p>\n

I lost my lovely Miss Mare, my heart horse, back in early October 2019.
\nShe was 18, but was in fantastic condition (as you can see in the photos from spring
\n2019). We had some ups and downs with tendon injuries as she aged but she was
\ndoing great. Then a freak paddock accident took her from us. I will not go into
\nall the details, but her fracture displacement was some of the worse the
\nveterinary hospital had seen. There was really nothing kind or any good
\nprognosis for even being pasture sound. I made one of the most difficult
\ndecision I\u2019ve ever had to make.<\/p>\n

\n

It\u2019s hard to put into words, so I will just share my original announcement.
\nI think this says it all. \u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sad to say we had to say goodbye to our sweet Miss Scout Monday after a paddock accident. The suddenness of this is very difficult. I can\u2019t thank all the vets at the OVC enough, and Scout\u2019s retired vet for taking my calls, working with the OVC and for her compassion throughout. At 18, Scout had been with us for over 14 years and there is no way to explain this loss for our us. She was more than a horse, competition partner, or pet \u2013 she was part of the family. This will leave a hole in my heart and an empty space in our lives that will never be quite the same. Gallop free sweet lady.<\/em><\/h4>\n

I didn\u2019t want to go to the barn initially or
\nown a horse again. But I had been helping out a lady at my barn for about 1.5
\nyears by riding her mare a few times a week. She encouraged me to come back
\nwhen I was ready, as she was sure Misti would miss me. And you know what. That
\ngave me the purpose to go back. <\/p>\n

So I kept going back. And over time I started missing horse ownership. Riding the other mare is fun \u2013 but not the same \u2013 although I do continue to ride her. I was missing the bond you build with one that is all your own. I am a bit unusual as a horse owner<\/a>, in that I keep my horses and am very involved even when I competed, so I was missing that feeling. <\/p>\n

So I started scanning sales ads and after only
\nseeing two other horses \u2013 the third just sort of fell into my lap. Well maybe
\nfell is relative, he was 4.5 hours north of me, but although he was such a
\nfantastic guy, few people were willing to go that far north. So my mom and I
\nmade a road trip to meet him. He was fuzzy and turned out for the winter, but
\njust as advertised. I thought over a few days then decided he was the right one,
\nI had him vetted, and then in early January he arrived!<\/p>\n

\n

I\u2019ve had a few holly s*** moments over buying a
\nyoung horse again. Like do I really want to do this again with a 3 year old
\nTrakehner? But overall, I am just excited for the road ahead \u2013 whenever we can
\nget back to the barn. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s weird, it took me 26 horses, yes 26, to
\nfind Scout. And I only saw 3 total this time around. I would like to think
\nScout had a little part in it (whether that is silly or not). And I can\u2019t wait
\nto see where we go. <\/p>\n

For now, I keep a little reminder of her
\neverywhere I go \u2013 even the barn. <\/p>\n

\n