A Very Special Day...

Checking out the new home.

Five years ago today a big brown mare with a penchant for licking people stepped off a trailer and into our lives, and our lives have been so much ricer for her presence.

We'd traveled to New Hampshire the weekend before to visit friends who knew Sugar and recommended her as a potential lease for me.  She was described as "not mare-ish" and as a "sweetheart" who was brave, kind, simple, and scopey.  I rode her twice that weekend and liked her; she felt safe and comfortable, perfect for what I was able to do at the time.

A week later my friend called and asked if I was ready for her to come a couple weeks early, as another friend was heading south to winter shows in Mississippi and could drop her off on the way.  Of course I was ready!  I rant to the tack store to get a bridle, a halter, and other necessities, and six hours later found myself holding the lead rope of the sweetest creature on the planet and feeling like a kid on the best Christmas of her life.

Hi Noah, I'm Sugar.

She calmly surveyed her new surroundings, re-introduced herself to the kids by licking them until they were soaked, and sussed out where the local food sources were.  We showed her to her new stall (she approved of it) and then groomed her and loved on her a bit to help her settle in to her new home.

I've been racking my brains as it seems appropriate to tell you all the things I've learned from her, but honestly, there have been so many lessons that they are all jumbled up in my head.  I could say she's taught me about unconditional love, as no matter how badly I ride her or what kind of foul mood I show up in, she is still happy to see me and lick me and work with me.  She's taught my kids and I patience, and how to care more about something else other than ourselves.  She's taught us the value of persistence; that sometimes things don't turn out the way you'd hoped, but if you keep working at it, things will turn out the way you need them to.  Sugar has taught us how to listen better and to look harder into things, because sometimes the obvious answer isn't the right one.

I think it was Seattle Slew's long time groom who said something like this of his great champion, "He made me want to be a better person."  Odd as it may sound, that is how I feel about Sugar.  I want to be someone she can be proud of. 

Thank you, my dear friend, for all you have given to me and my family.  These past five years have been wonderful, and I hope we have many more years together.

Two of my favorite faces.