Ellie was a barnsour mare that bit, bucked, and reared when I met her. She was leased out monthly to any yahoo and her low back was a tricky fit for a saddle, so she had been made sore too many times to be nice. I rode her once and was smitten, but I was a horse crazy teen that didn’t care that the horse I was riding ran back to the barn, or that she was one year older than me. Her next destination was not good, but my dad bought her cheap and brought her to his house. My first horse had baggage and bad habits and I was green as can be. Talk about taking a drink from a fire hose! The first few months were shaky because of family instability, so I promised her that after all she’d been through, I would be her last owner and someday, I would look out my own kitchen window and see her grazing. We were poor, so it seemed like a pipe dream at the time. I moved her a few months later to a self care ranch near me and cleaned stalls to pay for her. After carefully fitting her saddle and blankets, she became more cooperative. After working with her for about six months, all her bad habits were gone and she would do anything I asked. The perfect trail horse and best friend of an awkward teen. She loved her sprint when we rode. I had to find a spot on the trail where she could run. Friends at the barn would race us, but Ellie always won. She was registered AQHA and had the best of the old cow horse and racing lines. She always won, no matter who we raced. She had that extra gear that would kick in with her ears flat and body bunching up and stretching out. I stopped racing her against others on the trail when we moved. She still wanted her sprints, but we just raced the wind as she aged. She never experienced a defeat. She came along for my adventurous life in college and the military. We lived in CA, CO, MD, VA, RI, and then back to Virginia. That old mare got me through a dysfunctional family, college, the military, 9/11, and deployments. She was retired at 30 and I lost her at 34. Before she died, she emotionally fostered my first rescued baby donkey. She was buried on my first farm in Virginia, not far from the kitchen window I looked out of to watch her graze.
Ellie sounds like what we have seen in our buckskins also… over the years we have had two both seem to have an attitude of “I am the best” and all other horses are to be subservient to their needs/wants/desires
Our first was Mulligan who we found out that he could jump any fence we had after we kept finding him in the same paddock as Foxie. I thought daughter was putting him in there and she thought I was then we saw him clear jump the paddock fence …so he became her eventing horse and competitive trail horse
What a beautiful mare and a beautiful story. When things go wrong, our horses are always there to comfort us and keep us busy caring for them and taking our minds off our troubles. I’m so happy Ellie found you and lived a long, happy life after her difficult start. 
Looks like Mulligan really enjoyed his job. Very happy expression.
Mulligan was another of the very good all around horses, he was the national champion competitive trail horse for junior riders and a reserve national champion Morgan working hunter
But would gladly accept the role of “Spirit” for beginner riders. One was a young girl whose father was very proud of his daughter “making that horse work”, Mulligan was actually sidestepping to recenter the girl in the saddle I had to show him some of Mulligan’s working photos
but he was always kept here at home being a backyard horse
What wonderful photographs and memories. Love Mulligan and “his” pup. Thanks so much for sharing.
his pup is a therapy dog who was recognized by a local city as their city’s volunteer of the year. Her job is work as a reading dog to help people to learn to read at a local library (most children, but a few adults mostly immigrants from the Middle East)
she was raised with the horses, as a pup she was with daughter who was working at Clydesdale ranch so I think she believes she is a horse
other jobs are as Comfort Animal for minors who are having to testify in court cases
What a special girl to be so compassionate with people she doesn’t know. What’s her name? I had never heard of support dogs for minors testifying in court. What a great idea. I can’t even imagine the trauma they go through in that situation. I think I would have to have the picture of her and Mulligan enlarged, framed and hanging in my house. I can’t think of anything that could put a smile on my face daily like seeing that picture. Really adorable.
pup’s name is Sucha… it is a shortening of “Such A Good Girl”… honestly it is a name we stole from back in the days in the 1970s when my wife was a vet tech and there was this Golden who was often boarded there, the dog;s name was Sucha
One of the Middle Eastern adults who read to Sucha asked her name… he said that the word we use for something that is good… really have no idea if he was actually telling us the truth but we accepted it.
Yes emotional support dogs are used to provide a security to a person under stress in a trial. Actually Such has never appeared in court, the cases were adjudicated once it was seen that the victim was going to testify
When she was selected Volunteer of the Year for the city of Euless Texas (pop 60,000) where the ward ceremony was held did not allow any dogs, the mayor had a fit telling them the DOG is the volunteer of the year and SHE is going to attend…which she did
!
Sucha also is used to teach students to set in class and take notes
but back to the thread’s intent
One of our Morgan mares was often at our kid’s middle school, the principal joked the horse had better attendance than some of the kids
So impressed with Sucha. And what great memories of your horses. Thanks!
