This is a blog to look back upon. To see what time, patience, and dedication can accomplish in this frustratingly "do do do, go go go" world. This is a blog about my children, 4 legged may they be, they are more than just animals to me, as I'm certain many can sympathize with. My name is Ash, I have two rescued horses. I have been in the equine industry for about 5 years now, and had four horses in my life, all of them rescues. This blog is about Diamond, a craigslist horse with one foot in the horse trader's trailer and the other in my heart. He was posted two months ago on Craigs for a whopping $100. He touched my heart as many have but he was truly special. I wont lie that I suffer from a condition known to many as bleeding heart syndrome, especially when it comes to horses, thank God I have friends who have been in the industry longer than I, one in particular who loves and rescues TB's and OTTB's who held my hand through this journey and encouraged me to follow my heart and never give up.
I have always loved horses, and have been in the saddle since I was in utero. While my family has never endorsed this passion, nor are any of them interested in horses, besides my youngest sister, I have always loved them. Horses are my life.
My first horse was a gift from a friend from highschool, a horrible situation led to me obtaining her, and back then I was nieve with a capital N. I later discovered that she not only had a thyroid condition which caused her weight to fluctuate drastically, but that she was foaled two months early, her mother dried up after two months of her birth and that she was never offered any supplementation to compensate for her lack of nutrition. So needless to say I ended up with a pasture puff for 5 years before I had her humanely euthanized. My second mare was a rescue from a neglect case. She was an off the track Standardbred who suffered a tragic track accident in which she flipped with the cart. The result was a broken horse who no one understood, she went to a home with a couple of nurses who still trail ride with her, and love her very much. After chiropractic adjustment I was informed she could not be a dressage horse as I intended for her to be and I proceeded to find the proper situation for her out of fairness.
When I began working at the barn where I still work, there was a obese Arabian gelding for sale. No one really wanted him, and when I inquired about riding/lessons my instructor/boss informed me of him. I rode him for about 2 months, hurrying through work for the opportunity to ride, before he was given away to a friend of the family. Three months later, while I was still horseless, my boss received a phone call from the owner inquiring whether or not I was still interested in possibly owning him. Its been two years, and after a lot of reconditioning and training we are doing trail trials and intro level dressage. He has been re-named Khasper, from Wise Guy, and he is my everything.
Three months ago Khasp tore his peronious tertious in a romp around the track while free grazing. After months of slowly feeling more and more stagnant in my riding career I had begun looking around for a potential dressage horse. Khasp's injury prompted me to begin looking for another horse while he healed. I might mention that Khasp is 22 this year, and was doing lessons with some of the young girls at the barn. Pre-injury I was intending on half-leasing him while I moved forward in my riding with another horse. A month into his rehab I found Diamond. And here we are. Slowly moving forward on both fronts. Khasp is healing well...up until he ate poke weed last week and fried his little brain for about 24 hours....and Diamond and I are slowly working through all the tragedy and fear in his life.
So here is where I will update and keep track of our progress. Annnnndddd....photos!
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