My first memory of a horse was my daddy's thoroughbred mare Sunset. I have no idea where she came from but even now my memories of her are of a huge, gorgeous, sleek sorrel mare. In all actuality she didn't have very good confirmation and was prone to bucking, but I loved her anyways. I cried the day my daddy sold her.... He then ended up with another thoroughbred, a big bay gelding over 16 hands. His name was Tank when we got him, but he wasn't really a tank. Daddy renamed him Bailey, and again, I was in love. My sister had a little mustang mare under 14 hands that looked like a pony next to Bailey. I only remember riding Bailey once, and it didn't last long. We started at the hay barn, only Bailey and I never left. My legs were too short to really kick him and he was too lazy to care. My sister even tried ponying him, but that didn't work because I think he thought her mare was just a joke. He did however have some speed with a real rider. Actually bucking one of my sisters friends off and breaking her back. She couldn't ride and turning a thoroughbred loose in an open field wasn't exactly the best decision she ever made. So again, another thoroughbred sold, daddy said they were too thin skinned and too tall for a mountain horse. It wasn't quite as traumatic this time though, because one of my dads friends bought him.
I knew what he said about thoroughbreds not being good mountain horses was true, but that didn't stop me from wanting one. I grew up, went through a couple horses and then my freshman year of college I bought a thoroughbred. Take Your Dallies was a 14 yr old 16 hand sorrel mare with a lip tattoo. She'd had two bay roan appendix foals, was a ranch horse and a team roping horse. She had giant flat feet and had a great sense of self preservation. She was amazing. Built more like a quarter horse than a thoroughbred, and was really fast. I never found a race record on her, so while she'd been prepped to race she never actually did. Every time I rode her I fell more in love. She had heart, try, personality and a major attitude! She wasn't mean or bitchy really, but if she was in a bad mood she let you know. She had kind of a long back, which went out quite frequently. If you tried roping on her when it was, you ended up in the dirt every time. She loved to run, but when she was done she was done. Always stopping on her front end I flew over her head several times. But none of this mattered. The big red mare was my best friend and even though she was a flat horse, she took care of me in the mountains. Two years ago I bred her to a huge Hancock, Blue Valentine stud then had her shipped down to CA. She sloughed the fetus on the trip down and I was just too far away to breed back to that stud. Just a couple days after having an ultrasound she was the victim of a hit and run, breaking her front leg just below the knee. She was the first horse I watched being put down and it was heartbreaking. I had nightmares for awhile after that. The vet that came down was the same one I was working with to get her re-bred. He didn't even charge me. Not only was I at an emotional loss, but there was no way I could afford to replace her. Granted I had two more horses but I didn't have that bond with them. It wasn't long after the accident though that my appendix mare started to show a personality. Those two mares were the same age and constantly went back and forth for dominance. It was like she knew I'd lost my best friend and it was now her duty to fill that void.
I got a gelding in trade for a couple months training on a 3 yr old fugly appy. He's big, stout, tough and for sale. I don't really like geldings and I only got him so I could sell him. My next horse will be an off the track thoroughbred mare, and I really want to breed to The Pamplemousse. So there's my plan. A lot of people don't like thoroughbreds, but they're bred to run and have a lot of heart. Besides at 5'11" I'm a fan of tall horses.
Since this post is already pretty lengthy I think I'll do a little mini-series on some of my favorite thoroughbreds throughout history.
The late great Take Your Dallies
My Quarter Horse Appendix mare Tinky Sans Royal
The Pamplemousse, 2013 stud fee $2,500 (I'm saving my pennies)
Xoxo Loves,
Me
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