In The Beginning

I used to think my beginning in horses started with that very first pony ride. Later I realized the real beginning was with an appy mare named Sugar. Sugar was born sometime around 1940 & belonged to a man named Mr Ourtley. I might have seen a picture of Sugar years ago, or maybe she's just a photo in my mind from stories told to me by my mother. I no longer know. She was a blanketed 2-3 year old filly when my mother first met Sugar. She was ornery & Mr Ourtley always told my mother to stay outside the fence. Being a young girl with the love for a horse, my mother didn't listen & was kicked when she went inside the fence. While this might have taught my mother to stay out of Sugar's pen, it didn't lessen her want of a horse. Unfortunately there was never to be a horse for the young girl who was my mother.

Fast forward 20 years when that young girl grew up & had a daughter who was obsessed with horses. That daughter was me. One of my very first words was my rendition of horse. I knew I'd never have a real horse because my parents didn't have the money. I had plastic horses & stuffed horses & every book about horses I could find. I breathed & lived with my dream of having my very own horse. Then one morning my parents came to pick me up from my grandparents, where I'd spent the night. My mother's first words were "let's go find a stable". When I asked why she replied "to board you new horse". "WHAT horse?" "The one we're going to buy." No words could have been sweeter to my ears. By the end of the day, a Sunday, we'd not only found a stable but I had my first horse.

Sugar & my mother are both gone now, but I'll never forget either of them. The appy who drew a young girl's love made it possible for me to live my dream. The dream of having a horse of my own. The dream of living my life with horses. It's because of them that I've been Touched By Horses.