While it's impossible to recount all the experiences Missy and I have had together since I bought her in 2011, I figure a good place to start is when she came into my life.
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| Our first trail ride when I got her home |
I met Missy when I attended farrier school, where her breeder and owner (my farrier instructor) allowed me to ride her to get my "fix" of saddle time. She was living in an indoor arena, sharing a round bale with a foundered mare that the school was working on.
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| The first photo I have of Missy |
I learned later (the hard way) that she didn't live in there *just* to keep the mare company. Being a mostly-white paint with very fine hair, she would sunburn horrifically... everywhere. Her face, neck, shoulders, and back will blister and peel if she's turned out without sun protection.
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| So much white... |
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| Seriously. |
At 9 years old, she didn't have a ton of training or fitness, but Miss could be ridden out solo in the roads and fields around the school, and she was kind and well mannered on the ground.
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| Baby farrier Leah |
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| She made my job easy. |
Because of her manners, Miss was often used to get students more experience once they had graduated to shoeing live horses. However, my farrier instructor had more horses than time, so she got very little work unless a student expressed interest in riding her, like me.
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| Our first BTE together |
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| I was so happy to be in the saddle. Missy less so. |
Missy and I spent time daily hacking out wherever we could, often in the early morning before I started work on the forge for the day. We explored trails cut through the pastures, long trotted down rural Missouri gravel roads, and met the neighbors' dairy cows. Despite only having the vaguest idea of what my cues to stop and turn meant, she quickly grew on me. This spicy little mare was so game and bold, and she was a fast learner. I introduced the idea of moving sideways off my leg, and she mastered it in 3 short sessions. I soon began toying with the idea of bringing her home with me (much to my parents' dismay).
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| She started to become "mine" |
On my 21st birthday, I bought Missy, my first horse. This little barrel-bred APHA mare was the complete opposite of the tall, dark, and handsome gelding I had envisioned for myself, but love is a funny thing. I envisioned teaching her to use her powerful motor to jump, pursuing my dream of eventing in addition to the western style riding she was comfortable with. I knew I wanted an all-arounder who would compliment my enjoyment of both english and western disciplines, and I thought Missy would be just that.
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| I was completely smitten by this little paint. |
Years prior, when I had turned 16, my parents said they would buy me my first horse (every horse crazy girl's dream!), but I was really enjoying the QH gelding, Fantom, that I was leasing at the time. I decided I would rather continue showing in 4H with him. Once my Momma learned I had bought Missy, she made good on the promise and paid me back for her. I'll be eternally grateful of the support she and Dad gave me in chasing my dreams.
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| I got to show her cattle for the first time! |
I continued to work with Miss through the remainder of my stay at farrier school and coordinated with her prior owners to trailer her all the way from Missouri to southern Indiana. They were glad Missy had found her "person", something they thought she needed desperately.
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| Slowly building trust in one another |
Over a decade later, I can't imagine life without my "little white dumpling". We have learned so much together, and I can say without a doubt she's best birthday gift I've ever received.
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