The Great Horse Trade, Part 2
Chris Miller (see her website here of drool worthy stallions) and I have a history of bailing each other out when one needs help. One year when I lived in NC, I had a mare that wasn’t an event horse, and she being a breeder, had a gelding that she didn’t know what to do with. So we swapped and it ended up to the benefit of both. Another time, she called me when she was bed ridden with a horrible slipped disc in her back and begged me to help lighten the load of her barn. Because she was incapacitated, her then 13 year old son, had foaled out several horses in the last few days before going to school….. alone! She had too much on her plate and her son was burdened with more than someone his age should be. She begged me to please buy two youngsters. So, of course I did! (see Cera Z here as a 4 year old, and my purchase from her 5 years ago: Verily here)
I have done the math, and we have had 10 horse business transactions between us, and have remained sincere friends throughout it all. A mere two weeks ago, one of my clients bought some stallion frozen semen from Chris and it started this slippery slope of the current horse adventure!
Chris wrote to me that Megan, her youngest daughter, needs a jumper and I felt like my prayers had been answered. In my heart, they could have Ellie and I would sleep soundly at night knowing that she would never be lost from my life. They do all the things that I consider to be essential for my own horses: trail rides in hackamores, turnout in fields with friends, jumping for fun and competing for the thrill of it. It is my dream home for Ellie, and added bonus that she has ovaries for them as well!
“They say” that horse people are crazy, and Chris and I are clearly no exception to that rule. We cooked up a plan to trade two of their young homebreds for Ellie. My husband, Mark, gave me the thumbs up, and next thing you know….. after a whirlwind of coggins tests, flexions and xrays, I’m dashing off to Texas for the great horse exchange.
The two young horses, Oreo and Barbie, in box stalls.
I am now driving home with the two youngsters in Vanna, and every time I have thought of Ellie, I have cried. I will miss her regal alpha nature, and how she is a magnet for wildlife when I am in the woods with her. She is like that scene in Snow White where all the birds and deer are circling her and dancing with her. I just am lucky enough to be on Ellie’s back while she attracts the wild ones to us. I hope that she brings the same joy to Megan.
I am in the process of letting go. It hurts and I will miss her but, as soon as I get home, I will start to get excited about my new young’uns. They will have their own adventures and I am excited to be there with them every step of the way.
Ellie with her new best friend, Megan.
