Sunday, November 23, 2008

Meet Missy


Meet Missy, my beautiful Arabian mare. She is a 1980 model and will be 29 this spring. Well cared for horses generally live between 25 and 30 years so Miss. Missy is an old horse.

I bought her in 1981 as a yearling. I was living at the Windstar Foundation in Snowmass, Colorado for the summer and read an ad for Arabian horses. After learning about her bloodlines I had to see her. She is out of a Serafix mare and by a grandson of Bask and her sister had just placed in the National Championship. Those details were important to me then. That was another lifetime and yes, I wanted to see this horse. After a short visit to the Denver farm the deal was struck and she was coming home to Pennsylvania!

Well, I can't believe how many years of my life I spent riding around in circles training and showing horses and teaching equitation. Eventually, my horses got old, Missy is the last survivor, my interests changed and I got tired. Horses are A LOT of work. Missy is now boarded at a lovely farm where she is enjoying retirement. I am also enjoying her retirement. I plan to never again stack bales of hay or haul 100 pound sacks of grain, or clean stalls, or groom, or break ice in the water buckets before going to work in the morning. Missy's life is better and so is mine.

Horse are magical. I am grateful for sharing so much of my life with these majestic creatures and I have many special memories. Thanks, Missy, and all the horses and ponies who have blessed my life.

4 comments:

Annette said...

Gosh. I hardly recognize her. Ah, I know what it is...the picture doesn't show her teeth bared at me over her stall door. But I love her anyway.

And I don't miss stacking hay either!

Kathleen said...

LOL! LOL! I forgot all about Missy showing you her teeth. She did that to you ALL the time. LOL! I do appologize for her poor manners, but it is funny!

Margaret Cloud said...

Isn't it funny how the phrase "That was another lifetime ago" seems to be older peoples cliche. This was a very nice post about Missy and your years with her, I didn't know horses lived that long. It is amazing how we get attached to our animals.

MicheleRF said...

What a beauty she is! Glad she's getting to enjoy a relaxing retirement.