Born with It

To me it seems, you are either born with the horse "bug" or not. Trying to explain this to someone who was not is impossible, like trying to name the exact color of the sky. For as long as I can remember, I have been affected by horses. The first one I owned was when I was 11 years old, although I had been pursuing being around them long before. My first was a little appalossa gelding named Mr. Specks, a sorrell with a star and a blanket. He was all of 11 hands and very sweet, a true learning pony.
I rode daily, mostly bareback and usually in a halter and lead rope, oh the innocence of youth is grand. It wasn't long before I outgrew Specks and moved on to my next horse, Fred. Fred was a quarter/pony very mischeivous and full of speed. He was an absolute doll on the ground, but climb aboard and get ready for the ride of your life. I enjoyed him for several years until I went to college and got married. We competed in everything from barrels to jumping and I had a blast with him. Many years passed by and it wasn't until I took a friend's daughter on a trail ride at a local barn that I realized what was missing from my life. Two weeks later I was the proud owner of a Paint mare. I have not been without a horse since. The Paint mare was an introduction into the breed and I ended up owning and breeding several more over the years. Eventually I ended up owning a boarding stable in south Florida and getting a real education in horses first hand. Try as I have to explain this obsession I have with horses it is impossible and so I repeat, you are either born with it or you are not.