Happy Endings Update!

Tara, a sweet 21 year old Arab mare, was adopted out to a home in Anacortes a few months ago. We had gotten the initial reports that all was well and she was doing fabulously in her new home. Only one thing took us by surprise - we learned that Tara was blind in one eye! You never would have known it with this sweet and willing girl who was such an easy keeper...

On Tuesday, I was meandering my way down the dark aisle of the main barn as the power had gone out in the middle of the wind and rain we were having. I happened to run into a nice man named Tony who was looking for Cowboy and Jennifer. We began chatting and I learned he was also looking for another horse - a large one that some of his friends of the taller persuasion could ride on trails. I showed him two of our rescues, Saint and Bennie, and I then discovered he had adopted a rescue some time back. As he described "Chitara", my mind not making the connection, he regaled me with stories of her new life at his barn. "I ride her into town for coffee every morning," he grinned, "that horse is going to be with me until the day she dies." I smiled at the image of this small horse patiently waiting outside of the bustling coffee shop, gently munching nearby grass as she waited for her owner. It wasn't until he said Anacortes that I realized - "Oh, Tara!" With this horse I was quite familiar.

Tara came into rescue from her loving owner Carolyn, who was unable to afford the upkeep any longer. It was with bittersweet joy that we watched her finally get a home, many months after coming to the barn. And from what Tony shared with me that day, it sounds like a better home could not have been found. It's happy endings like this that help keep us motivated on this path...and knowing that Tara is in a wonderful home where she is lavished with love and affection gives us hope for the next horse in rescue to find that same happiness they so deserve...

PS - A Tuff update, because I couldn't possibly write on here without mentioning the star... Thanks to the prompting of Gretchen and the assistance of Cowboy, I had my second ride with the Tuff monster today. On days such as today, I can no longer avoid the nagging question at the back of my mind - is Tuff taking advantage of you, Kristin? Absurd! Preposterous! Absolutely, 100%..........true. Although I love connecting with him this way, I cannot deny that the moment Cowboy left the round pen, Tuff came to a screeching halt. And he does it oh so well, this art of being still. Oh I kicked and I clucked and I urged and I commanded and we went maybe.....mmmm, 10 feet? And that's being generous. But ya know, I love him anyway. And I know we'll get there - someday.