As many of you dont know I LOVE animals and I have always been over the moon with horses. I think they are one of the most beautiful animals out there. When I was younger I used to take lessons 2-3 times a week and was pretty decent of a rider. I was told I was naturally talented with the horses and I always felt at peace with them and being around them. I was able to keep my seat and even keep a measure of control on a spooked horse during my first lesson which impressed the instructor since it isnt something even some experienced riders can do.
Well My friend Michele has the most gorgeous horses and she shares pics of them all the time. Really they are stunning you should see them. And I met this guy who is really very very sweet named John, he owns a horse ranch south of me and he was showing pictures of some of his horses and one of his foals. Absolutely breathtaking! anyway it got me to thinking about the last time I was able to be around a horse and to ride a horse and to be ok.
I was in my early teens and was taking lessons for about 3 weeks when I asked about this HUGE and boy do I mean HUGE black stallion in a stall at the end of the stable I was taking lessons at. I was told the horses name was Baby Black, he had been had hand reared by his original owner after something had happened to the mother right about the time he was born. The man had died suddenly from heart disease and Baby was maybe 3-4 yrs old by then and the son had inherited the horse but had never showed up to handle it. I was told the horse did NOT like anyone. it had let its old owner near it but noone else, it would bit or kick anyone that went and tried to even groom the horse. as such it was usually darted anytime it needed anything done to it. I remember watching how they cleaned its stall. OMG I never laughed so hard at the sight of so many grown adults acting so scared! They got these boards and one guy would open the stall door and they would use these boards to make a corridor leading to the outside pen area and would shoo the horse out therewith another guy with a board. it really was comical. they would clean the stall then they would move all these bales of hay/straw (never was sure which) to make an aisle back and they would all get their boards again and make a circle and slowly creep in on the horse and shoo him back into his stall. and one guy got the job of slamming the stall door and latching it before he horse kicked it.
Well I dont know if I was stubborn, determined or what but I felt bad for Baby. I knew he had to be lonely and couldnt understand why his old owner wasnt around. so I brought sugar cubes for him. at first I would walk up to the stall and just look at him, he would look at me and I would leave the cubes on the stall door. After a couple of weeks I walked up to the stall and baby came to the head of the stall and I held the cubes out in my hand, he hesitated so I set them on the stall door and said good boy and left. the end of the next week he actually took them from my hand, I smiled and said "Good Baby" and turned and left. that lasted a week or two and then one day I Gave him the cubes and then he reached out and nuzzled me. I reached up and rubbed his neck and he put his head on my shoulder. I pushed a bit harder and picked up a brush and went into his stall carefully, he was eyeing me a bit wary and I showed him the brush. He kinda pushed me with his head and I started brushing him and he gave what I guess you could call a horse purr.. My instructor came looking for me and freaked out finding me in his stall, he ran and got the stable owner who came running in and they were stunned. Of course they stood a few stalls back. LOL. They wondered if I could walk him out of his stall and I picked up the lead rope, clipped it on and told him we were gonna go to the outdoor arena for a bit and to come on, and he went with no problem though he did flick the stable owner and instructor with his tail.... We got outside and the owner asked me to see if he would let me saddle him. He did. I remember him looking at me like "well ya gonna get on or not? Imma waiting and dont have all day.." I put my foot in the stirrup and swung up into the saddle and it started to prance around the arena as if he was the most perfectly trained horse.
The instructor came over and tried to grab the halter and Baby bit him. LOL the owner (old hand with horses) just looked at me and the horse. I was afraid I had done something seriously wrong. I mean Baby DIDNT belong to the stable he was private and just boarded there. He turned and walked back into the stable and came back out with a bunch of papers. he was looking through them and he informed me and the instructor that according to the standard contract for the stable, the stable had the right to do what was in the best interest of the animal, whether that pertain to exercise or veterinary care, Major matters such as euthanasia, breeding and reproduction where the owner of the animals things to deal with and were the only real areas the stable could not interfere. He said since I could handle the horse I better work it when I was there and it was my horse to ride as long as I wanted as far as he was concerned.
This lasted for a month and a half to 2 months, I was SO happy. I could not have loved Baby Black any more then if he was my own. I helped to muck the stall and put down fresh hay/straw, I gave him fresh water and groomed him. I rode him and it felt like flying. I never felt more right or centered or happy then when I was on Baby Black. He was So sweet and SO gentle and SO protective! One day I was brushing him and one of the hands came over to tell me something and Baby forced his way between me and the guy until his body was between us. That all changed when I went to my lessons one fall day.
I was just finishing up a lesson on Baby when the horses owner showed up. Nobody knew he was coming and he had never been around the whole months I had been taking lessons. He went BALLISTIC when he saw me on Baby. he started shouting and screaming about theft of property and how it was his horse and how they had no right. They owner of the stable spoke to him and even showed him in the contract where the stable had the right to exercise the horse which technically was what I was doing. Baby's owner was SO mad, he left cussing and yelling about how it was his horse and that if he couldnt ride the glue factory then nobody should be riding it. I got down and unsaddled Baby and brushed him down and everything. I remember spending a few extra minutes with him that day telling him how much I loved him and how happy I was and what a wonderful horse he was. He laid his head on my shoulder and just nuzzled me and blew his breathe on me. It was a perfect moment in time.
When I went back for another lesson 2 days later Baby was gone. I went around asking what had happened wanting to know where he was, I was almost frantic. Nobody would tell me anything. The owner of the stable came out and sat me down. He told me he had some bad news. I thought Baby had just been moved to another stable and I wouldnt see him again, I in no way was prepared for what he told me. The owner of the stable told me that Baby's owner had come back the day after my last lesson and had shot Baby and killed him because I had been able to ride Baby and he couldnt. That nobody had even known what was happening until it was to late. I lost it. I balled so hard. They tried to comfort me and to help me be okay with it. by the time I had finished crying they tried to get me to go in the stable and to see some of the other horses but the first stall I couldnt even touch the horse. I remember all the horses were at the front of their stalls looking at me and it was so quiet. they werent even shifting their weight on the floor.
I will never forget Baby Black, I will never forget that he died because I befriended him. I have never been able to ride since. I dont know if I ever will. I just know every time I see a black horse I am reminded of the most beautiful friend I had. and I will hopefully one day be able to look back and not cry over it.
