My horses

Tillie (2013-Present)

Tillie came into my life unintentionally. (She was everything I wasn't looking for - a red head mare) If I was smarter, I would have leased something or gotten something that had done the upper levels to learn on. But with my limited budget and not knowing any better I began looking at OTTBs.

I tried so many horses and brought home two different ones on trial. Both ended up having soundness issues leaving me very frustrated. I finally just asked an acquaintance at an OTTB rehoming organization to give me whatever they had that was sound.

When I had gone there early in my search, Tillie had just been returned from trying a career as a polo pony but had too much sass. She was recuperating from an abscess so was not available. But this friend insisted I try her.


So Tillie arrived. She seemed willing and quiet for the most part. So quiet that about a month into owning her, I took her to her first event doing elementary. She was brave, came right back after every fence and I was excited about our journey. What a smart pony!

Shortly after that event I applied to become a working student for a local 4* rider to really get the ball rolling. We moved ourselves there and began the hard work that fall of learning dressage and restarting her correctly.

Unfortunately, the first winter I had her she contracted a bad case of cellulitis. It took about a year and a half of on and off rehab and intermittent riding.  Finally, we were able to stay in consistent work starting August 2014. We last minute tried an Intro event where we aced the BN dressage test with a 29 but had two rails in stadium finishing 6th overall, 2nd in dressage.

She is a classic trouble maker and is often riddled with minor injuries or blips that always seem to stop us just as we make headway. BUT we have been able to get out to two BN events this year and trying to get more miles before we move up the levels.
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Kiss the Butterflies (September 2017)

I bought Kiss in September of 2017 after selling Typo to the perfect home. I saw an ad for Kiss locally and literally could not stop thinking about her. I decided "what the heck" and to go look at her...and only do something if I strongly felt it.

My first ride on her I knew I had to have her. She was elegant, good brained, quiet with just enough sass to know there is drive in there.

She passed her PPE with flying colors and has been with me since!













Mack The Ripper (2012-2013)

When I got back into riding as an adult, I acquired a freebie TB gelding that I was told was in his young teens, never raced and mostly was a pasture puff. I decided I wanted him as my own and let him be used in lessons to help compensate for costs. My very first horse that was solely my responsibility. All own my own!  

He wasn't the most attractive horse, but he was mine. The picture to the left was few months after getting him. He was scrawny and underweight with a parrot mouth. He was the grumpiest horse on the ground, but under saddle took care of his rider. He sort of felt like riding a boat. He was large and clunky, but all in all a good guy that took care of me. 

We were able to do some hunter shows and we did well despite neither of us ever having shown before. I became hooked in wanting to be better and started taking lessons myself and realized riding was more then just sitting there. 


Then, because other people at the barn were going, I decided to try cross country schooling. 

 

Mack and I's second time XC schooling ever

I was so nervous the first time going. Luckily Mack was cool as a cucumber for the most part and carried me over everything the others picked out for us to do.

The thrill was so similar to that of fox hunting I was completely smitten. So we went again and did even bigger stuff which led to us signing up for our first event. 

Mack and I's second time XC schooling ever

We were dead last after dressage that morning. I had no clue what I was doing and my good natured horse was just carrying me along with his good temperament. Cross country was marvelous and I started off scared but halfway through was grinning from ear to ear...and grinning so much I missed a jump. 

We came home and began taking serious lessons where I learned all about the sandbox and the thing we call dressage. I learned just how much of a passenger I was and how much more I needed to be doing...and that was only scratching the surface!

But I really focused and began riding everyday with the mindset of training.

Mack and I the last month I had him

Around that time I began to notice he was not even behind. The vet came and did his thing and low and behold there were arthritic changes in his hocks and right ankle. I started joint supplements the whole works for him and again really assess how we rode to ensure he was moving the best way for his body. 

Nothing quite seemed to make him 100% comfortable until I tried injections. Voila it was like having a new horse!!! So we returned to the same event a month later and I took my trainer at the time with me. I was starting to get serious about this eventing thing and was hungry to learn.

Turned out, we placed FIRST after dressage! My trainer was so excited she thought for sure we would be ready to move up the levels. But we still had stadium and XC. Stadium proved to be rough, it was hot the ground was sticky and thick after a rain making it soft and hard to really push. We had a rail, which for Mack I could count on one hand the number of rails he ever took down even at home schooling. 

Mack and I at our first event

We brushed it off and prepared for XC. Counted down to start and off we went! I was ready to tackle it just like the first event. Approaching fence one we had a great pace. Next thing I know, I'm somersaulting in slow motion over my horse's shoulder. We tried to jump fence one and my poor horse attempted to, but just didnt have the strength. 

Humiliated and possibly needing the equine ambulance I watched as the vets there looked over my horse. Luckily he was ok, as was I, but it was clear he needed a much easier lifestyle. 





Romeo (2013)

When I went to try Romeo before bringing him home

Mack and Romeo meeting

While I owned Mack, I also got myself a young OTTB gelding as a project who I named Romeo. He was my hopeful replacement for Mack. He was quiet with slightly more pep then Mack under saddle. So a perfect slight step up then a babysitter.

Unfortunately, Romeo came to me with terrible feet and despite help from my vet and farrier spent most of the time dealing with thrown shoes, sore feet, abscesses etc. Meanwhile Mack began requiring injections for his arthritis so something had to give. I concluded that I needed to sell Romeo and focus on Mack (prior to Mack indicating injections wouldn't be enough).

Right after bringing Romeo home