Thanks, Chancellor, for giving me a month to celebrate my dear Morgan mare, Quinta, who passed away this summer. I gave a little of the story in this thread:
http://www.definitelydressage.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1644I grew up riding Morgans - mostly as an unsupervised teen tearing through the forests of Northwestern Ontario. When life finally stabilized enough post-grad school that buying a horse was possible, getting another was Morgan my first choice. They weren't a popular breed where I was living at the time, but saw an ad for this gorgeous black mare. She was polite and well-behaved, albeit nervous and aloof. I brought her home to discover a mare who trusted no one. She'd been (inadvertently) trained that spooking meant getting out of doing anything, and therefore she massively over-reacted to everything. It was a long journey to build a relationship. I remember the moment that I knew we had turned the corner: just after moving to Chicago, I was bringing her into the arena and someone was coming into the barn, loudly scraping muddy boots against the concrete floor. They suddenly stopped, completely wide-eyed and staring at us. I turned around slowly, to see Quinta literally
sitting down, whites of eyes flashing, about to bolt. I looked at her, said "really, Quinta?" and she looked at me, blinked, stood up, sighed, and quietly followed along.
We mostly did dressage until moving to North Carolina. She tolerated the arena, but was a very tricky ride and never seemed to enjoy the work. After I bought my red mare, Quinta got promoted to trail pony, where she was brave and forward and great fun to ride.
This spring, she was diagnosed with bilateral equine recurrent uveitis (ERU). We were lucky to be so close to the NCSU Ophthalmology department, and they tried everything they could to get it under control. In the end, we just could not keep her comfortable and I euthanized her in August. She was a brave and compliant patient right to the end and is buried out on the trails that she loved so much.
There is something special about the bond you build with an animal who comes to you not trusting anyone - despite the logistical challenges of having such a horse. She was a sweet, quirky little mare and I miss her every day.
Thanks to all of you for your kind thoughts and virtual hugs. I know you understand.