The Horse Who Rescued Me

I moved to San Diego in August 2009. Living by the beach was a dream, and I was finally there. Little did I know I'd make a friend who would lead me to one of the most life changing decisions to date.

I moved into an extremely irritating and overpriced apartment complex when I first made it to Pacific Beach. I didn't like much about it after about a week, but there I was. Then I made a new friend in the complex who made the best and worst mistake ever in just two words.... ".......my horse...". "WHAT? Did you just say 'my horse'?", I exclaimed. Oh yea, she had a horse. Owning a horse was a dream that began when I was very young. I started riding when I was 4 on a gray pony named Daisy. I never stopped. But never on a horse of my very own. I wanted a big, beautiful horse. Black or Brown. Thoroughbred or Warmblood or any other type of sport horse. But the timing was never right.

After hearing about my new friend's horse, I started thinking. Maybe I could pull this off. I started poking around online. The internet can be so great... but is so BAD for me! It gets me in so much trouble! One visit to Craigslist.com. Keyword "horse" in the search box of the "for sale" section. This search can yield many results... rocking horses, cars with a certain horsepower, sawhorses, toy horses..... and a horse named "Jack" who needed a new home. 17.1 hands, thoroughbred. Bay. GORGEOUS. "Price negotiable to good home". Oh yea, this is it. I show my now good friend, and we agree to go visit him. Jack was living in Bonita, and was 5 years old at the time. He had already had probably 3 owners, and the girl who had taken him in last couldn't keep him anymore. She already had 4 horses of her own, and the costs were getting overwhelming. We drove down and were led over to his stall. The girl at the ranch took his fly mask off. We both gasped for air when we saw how beautiful he was. Unforgettable words from my friend... "oh, Jen... he's beautiful". That was it. I knew I was in big trouble. I told the nice girl I would think about it, and headed to the car. "Well, just so you know.. someone else is interested. And she isn't a great rider. And she just had twins". WHAT? All I could think was how unworthy she was of him! "Oh screw it", I said, "tell her he is off the market. No way she is getting him". Sh*t. What did I doooooooooooo? For the bargain price of $900, I had myself a horse.

Jack arrived at his new home in Poway about a week later, and as I stood holding him and watching the trailer pull away, leaving him with me, I realized I didn't have any tack. Great, a horse I can't ride. Well, I'd better start shopping. Luckily my days in California have made me a bit more frugal than in my younger years, and my ghetto fabulous tack has gotten the job done for quite some time now!

My family was none too thrilled with my decision to take on this huge responsibility. They would be even less thrilled the day after Thanksgiving of that same year. That was the day I called home from my bed in the ER to tell them that I had broken my neck in a jumping accident. C1 and C2 to be precise. The same bones Christopher Reeve broke. But I had been extremely lucky. A crack and a chip and no other damage. Yes, I had broken my neck... but I would walk away from the hospital that night with only a neck brace. Using my own two legs. Jack would spend the next two weeks with knees swollen like footballs. I'd spend the next 9 unable to drive or do much of anything for myself. Yet no one was surprised when I showed up at the barn 2 days later to see Jack. And every possible day after that.

Needless to say, Jack and I are both back to normal. We have since switched to a beautiful barn right next door to where we used to be. He is fat and happy and so am I. Well, ok, I am more happy than fat, but still. Jack is now 7. I could swear he grew a little in the past two years. We trust each other now. I know all of his dumb obnoxious silly crazy unexplainable habits.He knows just what buttons to push and what he can get away with before I start screaming at him. And we are a perfectly imperfect pair. And I love him.

Yes, that's a short synopsis of our 2 years together. Really barely skims the surface. But how can I write about the animals in my life and not make him a part of it?

"My horse's feet are as swift as rolling thunder
He carries me away from all my fears
And when the world threatens to fall asunder
His mane is there to wipe away my tears."
-Bonnie Lewis