A Tale of Two Sidneys

This the "tail" of a horse,
a horse named Sidney.


But really it is the tale of two horses.
One horse.... a thoroughbred retired from racing....injured, thin, joyless.
The second horse.... training to be an eventing horse.... fit, sound, 
and filled with the joy of living.


It is also the tale of a girl, 
who has lived and breathed horses since as long as she can remember....
loving them so deeply that she put herself through vet school
 to became an equine veterinarian.
The girl is Becky, our Dr. Becky, Hubb's sister who shares
the tribulations and triumphs of farming with us.

A little over a year ago, Sid and Becky fell in love.
It was love at first sight.
Sid had (at a still-young age) just retired from racing.
He was injured, thin, lack-luster and very sad.
But behind those sad eyes, Becky saw some glimmer of what he might become,
and set about rehabilitating him, building his strength, adding some weight,
and allowing him to once again become a horse.


Her love and care paid off.


Sid is now in training to become a cross country eventer.
He is being schooled in dressage and jumping.
Jumping seems to come naturally for this athletic horse with "happy feet."


Part of Sid's training involves "free jumping"...
allowing him to build his confidence jumping without a rider on his back.


Sidney sails over jumps with wings on his hooves
and lands with jubilation...


taking off in a full gallop (his victory lap) around the arena,
leaving Becky beaming in his dust.


Round and round, back and forth he runs with wild abandon
until it is once again time to jump.


And once again he sails over the pole.


A job well done deserves a lot of praise...
which he gets


as well as a bit of time to graze in the hayfield.


It is a wonderful life for this once tired, sad horse,
who never knew what it was to just graze
or to run purely for the joy of it!

Comments

Anonymous said…
A beautiful story!
What a lucky horse!
We have a story that is very much the same.
We bought our Jake at a horse sale, a retired race horse. He looked good (because of drugs I believe) but after they wore off it was a horse in need of a lot of tender loving care. He limped badly and in need of love. We have worked with Jake now for about 5 years. He is healthy and happy... He is also the gentlest horse around. We let all our grandkids and foster kids ride him without worries. He's the best!
Have a great week Bev.....
Dawn
This is my favorite kind of rehab story :-)
Anonymous said…
Every living thing deserves to be nurtured. So glad that where one door closed for this horse that another opened when Dr. Becky found him. :-)
Anke said…
That's wonderful!
Unknown said…
I love that story. And I love Becky for what she has done for Sidney. And.... I love that she fulfilled her dream of working with animals.
Carla said…
Happy, happy tale! Thanks for sharing.
Good Morning Bev! What a lucky horse is right...Sidney was very lucky to end up in your sisters caring hands. Becky should write a book about this horse...or even a children's book about it. I would have loved a book about a poor sad horse who ends up with a happy home when I was a girl...heck I'd like a book like that now! Thanks for posting such a 'feel good' post this morning. I hope you're enjoying beautiful summer weather up there. Have a great day!
Maura :)
Ginny said…
Thanks for making my Monday with such a happy "tail". Have a good week.
This N That said…
What a wonderful story..Sid looks great..COngratulations to Sid and Becky....
Gone Country said…
What a beautiful 'tail'! And such a beautiful horse! I'm so glad Dr. Becky looked into Sid's eyes and 'fell in love'! He's a lucky horse!
Unknown said…
What a wonderful story...love this post of a sad and lonely life turned into one of bliss for two people! One being the horse...lol.
Cindy Caudle said…
Loved the story. What a beautiful horse.