What do you consider a "horse of a lifetime"?

[glimmerling]

My horse of a lifetime was my first horse and everything I didn't want! Except for being an Appy (love them) he was all wrong. White, short, fat, ugly, blind, hated dressage. Ended up spending 3 years doing barrel racing and reining because that's what he wanted to do and loved every minute of it. I never felt so safe, so connected, so vivacious with any other horse. He was a firecracker with me, a true hot as heck barrel horse, but I also taught beginner lessons on him for years and he was the most patient horse with the little ones. Yes, that's how cool he was, a blind lesson horse. He died in my arms seven years ago and I still miss him.

[jumpingmaya]

We learn from every horse, but my horse of a lifetime is the one that I look back and say "My live was richer, better, longer, sadder, more joyful, more stressed, more exciting, more fulfilling and now much more empty without her."

And I often think our horse of a lifetime is the one that we don't realize holds that position until they are gone.

Eight years later, there's still a little white mare-shaped hole in my heart, and I don't think it will ever quite be filled... but the shape is less distinctive now, and there are a couple new horses that cover most of the void, although they are not a smooth and perfect fit.

This... my mare of a lifetime was... my best friend... Only difference is that I knew it when I owned her. She ended up having a lot of problems and I was totally fine at the idea of just trail riding her... as long as she was happy, I was happy. I lost her a bit over a year ago... and I still have a chestnut mare shaped hole in my heart. Even though I just bought another chestnut mare who is amazing... that one special spot was for Maya... she was the one that I thought of all day, the one that I worked hard for, the one that made me smile no matter how bad things were.... But I know she would approve of the new mare... because everything that Maya taught me- I am now using on this big mare

[Zu Zu]

Was there at birth and death ~ Memories in Motion ~ RIP

Can't be defined ~ Lost mine, "Memories in Motion" aka Midget to freak accident ~ turned-out & kicked a post and shattering his right hind leg ~ at hock hanging by a piece of hide! in front of my eyes ~ 7-31-91 ~ still miss him something fierce. We buried Midget with red roses ~ neighborhood kids and families helping with his burial. Still remember every single second of it ~ My lifetime dog ~ Aussie, Skye loved him also. She always stayed with me except the one time I let a friend ride Midget and Skye went with them. Skye was of course with me when we lost Midget ~ I lost Skye 4-19 -98. Midget and Skye were my heart & soul ~ my lifetime best friends. RIP MIDGET & SKYE ~ Love you !

[Brooke]

I've had one (and didn't know it at the time) and may have the other right now. "Frosty" was the first horse I ever bought; I was 14 or so and he was a pony horse at the track, chestnut roan, TB. When I went to look at him, he was lying in his stall, sleeping. He just looked up at me, never got up, and I bought him right then and there. He turned out to be the quietest, kindest, sweetest horse you could ever ask for. He jumped 3'6" courses with ease and we won many junior hunter and eq. classes, I hunted him 'on the buckle' in a snaffle, and in the spring I would go sit under a tree and he would graze next to me. I didn't realize at the time what a great horse he was. I got 'bored' with him because he never did anything wrong (dumb kid!) and sold him to someone who knew better. My red-headed OTTB mare that I have now may turn out to be my second. She likes me - really likes ME. Comes up in the pasture just to stand with me - doesn't care if I scratch her or not, she just likes to be with me. She can be hot at times, but less and less, and never does anything to hurt my ancient body. She's something special too.

[Calena]

I've had two. The first I only had for 8 months. She would bounce up and down and wag her tail like a dog when I walked in the barn. We adored each other. I bought her replacement to help with the grief of losing my beautiful sweetheart.

Talk about night and day! For the first 8 months, I swore this mare hated me. I'd enter her stall prepared to do battle as she threatened to kick and bite me EVERY day. It took the longest time for me to understand her defensive, nervous disposition. But once I did, she became my dream horse. Not so much a perfect buddy as a perfect partner. This mare made me learn, made me search for answers, made me get it right. Although she's always challenged me right to the wire, she's never, ever threatened to hurt me or put me in a position of danger. She's made me a horsewoman.

I've had her for over 22 years and she still finds ways to challenge me every day. But now, she stops to give me hugs. She's not a 'hugger' as my last mare was, so it's extra special now.

IMHO, people that never get the chance to get close to a really good horse miss something incredibly special in this life. There's simply nothing else like it.

[cherish the moment 07]

My horse of a lifetime is my current horse Cherish. I know that I will never feel this much love for another horse. She's my first horse and when I got her I must have been crazy because she really wasn't what I was looking for, but she found me and I've never looked back. I was only 16 when I got her, she was 17. She was skin and bones, was scared of people, and didn't trust any human. It took me a good year before I even got on her back. I spent my time getting to know her on the ground and gaining her trust. It took a lot of time for her to completely trust me and for me to completely trust her. I love the fact that it took me so long to gain her trust. It really shows how smart my girl really is and makes me feel like a better person for the fact that I gained her trust. Now after 6 years I know without a doubt there is nothing that horse wouldn't do for me and I feel the same way about her. She's not a horse to me, she's my best friend. She makes my life less complicated. I've changed my views on riding because of her. She isn't a horse that can get very far in the show ring, and I'm okay with that. We just have fun because that's what she likes to do. Life's too short to spend it trying to change her to fit me better. We've grown together and I know I can count on her for anything. I get teary just thinking about it because I honestly fall more in love with my old mare every day. When people see me and her they always comment to me "you really love her don't you." Then when I walk away and Cherish will be in her stall looking for me or they see how her eyes "light up" when she sees me they see that the feelings mutual. Horses can come and go just like people. It's the ones that make you feel special and the ones that you have a unbreakable bond with that makes them horses of a lifetime.

[Snork]

I've loved every horse I've ever had, and they've all been special to me. If I had been asked the question of the "heart horse" just a few months ago, I think I might have said my old rescue was one? He was a truly amazing, never-put-a-foot-wrong animal and I loved him. I always dreamed of being able to bring him home one day, and see him in a pasture outside my own window. It didn't work out that way, he died last year and I still miss him often.

But then, a few months ago, I hadn't met The Saintly Pony yet. In not even two months that we've owned her, the 36 inch Thelwell look-alike is definitely making a claim to my "horse of a lifetime" status. Small fat bay with the best temperament I've ever seen in an equine who adores people and lets my 20 month old daughter spend hours kissing and grooming her ... how could you NOT love her? I, who had never had any use for anything that was below 15 hands or so, am so much in love it even surprises myself. Every day she steals more of my heart just by being her own adorable, willing, agreeable and loving self. She takes SUCH good care of my kid who is absolutely smitten with her, and even my husband, a non-horse person, adores her. She wasn't expensive to buy, she costs almost nothing to keep and she has brought nothing but joy to us.

When my daughter is missing at the barn, I know where she is - she's in the pony's pasture, kissing her pony, and I know she's as safe there as anywhere. How could you not love someone who takes such good care of the most precious thing in your life?

[Simbalism]

I currently own my heart horse, a chestnut TB mare. I have loved all my horses, but she is the best horse I have owned. She is pretty, a good mover, well trained, and after being a show hunter in her younger years, she has become my "old lady" horse. She will do anything I want, so we have dabbled in dressage, tried barrel racing and pole bending, ridden in parades, gone camping in the mountains, b&b's in the mountains and at the beach with friends. We've also tried team penning and fox hunting. She trail rides the best.
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[Across Sicily]

It is hard to explain. It is a feeling and a connection and a deep love, respect and feeling of true TEAMWORK with the horse. You suit one another, whether they are the most beautiful or competing at the highest level. You are buddies and there is a really deep connection there. I would liken it to meeting a human soulmate.

I've had 2 heart horses and owned seven horses total (and am leasing an 8th). I still own one of them; he is a Mini who is essentially useless as anything but a lawnmower after he broke one of his hind legs a few years ago. But he is my buddy, and even though I rarely get to see him (he lives with my parents in another country) when I DO see him, he is THRILLED to see me and we can't spend enough time together. He is super smart and is so keyed in to what I am thinking but MORE than thinks for himself too. My other was a lovely mare who grabbed my heart. She was my dream horse and yet she and I practically loathed each other the first six months I had her! But as time went on we really bonded. We both experienced many new things together and she was the sweetest, most caring horse, but had a little diva attitude too. I did love that mare. She now belongs to someone else and she is that woman's horse of a lifetime and spoiled to death. I could not be happier for either of them, but I miss her often, even though it's been several years since she moved on. There is definitely an empty place without her.

[Adamantane]

I can't compete with the lifetime of experience of most COTHers because I came to riding in middle age, and so have much less collected data and wisdom.

That said, in my opinion the horse of a lifetime is one who teaches you more than you ever imagined you could possibly learn from any one horse; did that without making you try to puzzle out just what s/he was trying to teach in retrospect only after some unpleasant behavior or experience; always treated you and others in the warm way anyone would want to be treated by a longtime friend; and made it clear that s/he intuitively grasped that your intentions were benevolent even while your inept actions might have inclined a less gracious horse to become upset or seek to put you in your place for your ignorance.

It adds points if this horse did all this for you after your experience with others made you wonder if the whole idea of riding was a mistake, and/or if some very bad experience with some other horse made you wonder the same thing.

It also adds points if on top of this, the critter leads the two of you to some kind of formal payoff you never expected. Even more if the horse at the time was experiencing some physical limitation that might have made it uncomfortable while doing so.

There are bonus points when the horse greets you in the pasture with hearty nickering and meets you halfway when you go out to fetch him or her.

Even more if the horse's breed reputation suggests that all the foregoing were improbable.

It is nice, but not at all required, for the horse to be especially handsome.

[RomeosGirl]

Short answer - a horse that makes you smile everyday.
I've owned my horse of a lifetime (Romeo) twice. He was the first horse I ever owed & I knew the first day I saw him he was something special. Of course I didn't buy him for a almost a year after seeing him (he was owned by my trainer).
Long story I've told on here before, but basically I traded him for another horse. Didn't know I wouldn't "develop" that feeling for the new horse. We never clicked & I always wondered where Romeo was. Found him for sale online while surfing the net... (I wasn't looking for a horse to buy, I was searching for horses of his breed & something in that ad spoke to me. There wasn't a picture of the horse, just a description. The age did not match but it said he was a perfect gentleman who went around in a plain D-ring even with a kid). He was gone from my life for a total of 1 year, 4 months & 9 days. I cried the day he left & the day he came back.
He can't do as much now & is basically retired, but what a friend said this weekend sums it up well. We were just walk/trotting around the ring after everyone elses lessons were over & friend comment's "You smile a lot when you ride him." She's right - I do smile a lot anytime I think about him.

[dauntless]

t my horse of a lifetime is the one that I look back and say "My live was richer, better, longer, sadder, more joyful, more stressed, more exciting, more fulfilling and now much more empty without her."

This.

See my thread about my horse Ivan that passed away two weeks ago today

[Chaila]

My aunt had a horse when she was a teenager that she sold to to off and smoke pot and be a hippie.

Fifteen years later she moved back to her home state and bought him back and kept him for the rest of his life.

[hey101]

I have had many special horses come in and out of my life so far, and as I expect to own and be involved in horses for the rest of my life, I don't think I feel comfortable elevating just one to "horse of a lifetime".

The school horse I first learned to canter and jump on when I was a horse-crazy 10yr old girl. I still remember the thrill I'd feel every Wed evening (my lesson day) when I arrived at the barn and he stuck his head over the stall to greet me.

The first horse I ever owned all by my lonesome, as hot, strong, difficult, and opinionated as she was. In spite of her fire though, I could give pony rides to my nieces and nephews on her and I successfully competed a Prelim on her.

My gorgeous, terribly sensitive, and overly affectionate gelding who could be brilliant on XC one day and dump me on the ground twice in a row at the very first fence the next.

My big draft-cross who was the perfect husband horse, completely unflappable, and made inexperienced riders feel very safe in spite of her size.

My current horse whom I can do just about anything with- in her first season out she foxhunted first field, she will happily and cutely jump around a hunter course with a teenage girl, fast-and-furious trail rides or super-mellow on-the-buckle hacks, give me one of my best XC rounds ever even only at Beginner Novice.

This is just a small sampling, and I hope I am as fortunate enough in the rest of my horsey life to get to know many more wonderful horses.

[asb_own_me]

I have mine right now - and I never saw it coming until the day I called my DH and said, "I HAVE to buy this horse". I showed him a few times for his previous owner and enjoyed him, but he was "too short"-"too plain"-"too annoying"-"too forward"-"his head's too big".

I bought him in the late spring of 2008, and guess what? He's short, but he "goes" big. He hardly has any white, but he is shiny and dappled. His annoying little quirks and habit are absolutely endearing and show an incredible happy personality. His forward engine makes him the most fun horse I've ever ridden, and he grew into that head of his

I very nearly lost him that winter....but I didn't. And he will be with me for life.

[BoysNightOut]

I just lost my "heart horse" this past winter very unexpectedly.

I know he was that once in a lifetime horse that I'll never find again. I didn't just have a blast riding him, but I had a blast brushing him, grazing him, cold-hosing/wrapping/giving injections/applying wound treatments to him, lol. He was just my best friend who I could spend hours with just enjoying his company.

He wasn't the most athletic horse in the world. In our 1 event we did, we had a ton of time faults in Stadium and got the big E halfway through Cross Country....but heck if I wasn't completely proud of him, seeing as he was a $200 investment as a lame throw-a-way. We did a Dressage show, Combined Test and Hunter Pace as well in our 6 short years together. Even did a few trail rides in the local park, which wasn't bad for a horse who was known in the past to be naughty.

I know he was my forever horse because I'd give up riding ever again if I could just have him back, being a pretty pasture puff in my backyard.

[Ozone]

My horses of my lifetime is thankfully still with me today.

He is the horse that you are always happy to see as he is happy to see you.

He is quirky, sometimes bossy, even beligerant at times but to ride him is like meshing as one. He has heart, ability and when we are faced with greater challanges I hear him/feel him say "Hey Ma, come on I got this".

He is the horse that after riding so many others you cannot wait to ride him even if the others are more schooled.

He is the horse that everyday when I see him/ride him I get so excited. Excited like the day I purchased and brought him home.


Feeling that feeling towards him is something I hold near and dear to me. He is the horse of my lifetime. I hope we both grow old and stay healthy together.

[Trevelyan96]

I've been blessed to have 2. Trav was my 'first', and the joy he brought to my life will never be forgotten, nor the lessons he taught me.

And Rico, despite all the in saddle setbacks, is the love of my life. There is just something about him that feels like I have found my other half. No matter what anyone says, no matter how many starts and stops we have, I am happier with him than any horse I've ever known.

[GallopGal]

This is my horse of a lifetime. Does anything and everything. Cannot be replaced

http://travisponyboy.shutterfly.com/

Just had another thread about the book. Work in progress.

[Equine Studies]

I didn't know I had the horse of a lifetime until......

after she died in a crazy weird pasture accident New Year's Eve 2008 where she slipped in the field and fell on top of some bushes that broke off and the ends were thin and sharp when she fell on them-you can guess the rest. She had not been sound for a few years after another stupid injury (rolling into the hay feeder and rebreaking a splint bone that had to be removed-sense a theme?). Since she didn't come back sound after that was bred, which was a complete disaster-almost aborted at Month 10, made it to term but foal presented backwards, got stuck, had to be pulled, and then resuscitated, had severely crooked legs that had to be splinted, may not be sound to ride-we'll find out soon as she's now 3 and in training board. There are many more injury and crazy bad luck stories, those are just the most memorable ones.

After all that I was really starting to resent her costing me money every time I turned around (board, vet bills, etc. etc.), and generally just being a pain. I changed her name from Cleo to Money Pit for a long time.

Anyway to make a long story a bit shorter, I have yet to find a horse I like as much, there are many I like but very few come even close to the joy she brought (on the good days). Not even her daughter-even though she's a surviver and is probably much more talented than her mother-doesn't remotely have the personality. Everyone loved this mare-she was a pet and a character, and had some talent to event-and trail rode, swam, and would park in the crossties without halter or anything and would stand there as long as someone was in the vicinity paying attention to her or just chatting with someone else. I would pay any amount of money now to have her be a lame, accident prone pasture ornament. My eyes still fill when I talk or in this case type, about her.

Moral of the blabbing above-if you think you have a great horse, even if it may not be "the one", appreciate them! I didn't for the last few years I had her and I'll regret it forever.