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 Growing
up in the city, I was always infatuated with horses even though
I had no exposure to them. As a child, my science and biology
projects were on horses, their anatomy, breeds and any other
information I could find. Every year when we vacationed as
a family, my souvenir was always a "horse statue"
later to be known as Breyer horses. I enjoyed watching racing,
admired the riders and wanted to be a jockey. When I was 15
years old, I would carpool anyone I could find to come to
a riding stable out in Sherborne, MA. I would skip school,
call out of work sick, all weekends, and could not get enough
of it. When I was eighteen I started taking riding lessons
in Lexington. I would ride my motorcycle (city girl) out to
Lexington and hop on a horse. Then life got in the way with
marriage and children.
Attending
Harvard University photography class, my first assignment
in Black and White Photography I chose horses, this was to
continue my contact with such beautiful creatures (I am a
professional photographer today, see my Equine
Photography page). At age 39, I acquired a property that
had horse fencing and land in Groton, Massachusetts and was
so excited. Before we even passed papers, I had purchased
my first horse after searching. I discovered this advertisement
in the "Want Ad" of a Grey Arabian Mare. I always
loved Arabians and was mesmerized by their beauty and movement.
Well,
everyone told me: "Don't buy a mare, don't buy a horse
you haven't ridden yet or know nothing about, and for Gods
Sakes, don't buy an Arabian!!!!" I did all of the above
and my first horse was "TRIXX." Her owner did not
like the horse, had her boarded at a Morgan facility and did
not want her coming back to the house. When she would pay
the rent at the barn, she did not even go to visit her.
 When
I saw Trixx come out of the barn I knew she was for me. Then
when she was free lunged, my heart was pounding, she was so
breathtaking. I visited her for a month before I placed a
deposit on her. We bonded instantly and she loved my children
too. The vet warned me that Trixx was an excitable horse and
not for beginners, let alone children. My 8 year old daughter
has been riding her since she was five and Trixx is so motherly
and listens to me, when she is riding. The vet later came
to the property to see Trixx and could not believe it was
the same horse! We were giving children pony rides on her
at birthdays, trailriding, ringwork, training and was flabbergasted!
She said, "This horse has been waiting for you her whole
life, it was meant to be!" It was then, that I realized
that she was misunderstood. It wasn't until I started calling
trainers for interviews to see who would best work with Trixx
that I realized, ITS THE WHOLE BREED THAT IS MISUNDERSTOOD!
 Every
trainer I contacted wanted nothing to do with Arabians, and
said an Arabian mare is even worse. I gave one trainer a shot
who gave me a good story on Natural Horsemanship methods,
and when I saw what she was doing in the roundpen, hitting
her with the lead rope, yelling at her, calling her a puke,
she colicked that night and had never colicked in her life!
She was yanked from there and I searched for someone that
could come to the house. I interviewed a few other trainers.
One came out with all kinds of gear which he placed on her
head and straps, etc., which made her real nervous. I would
be too! Then he recommended I let him take her for three months.
Yeah right! Then I found a woman who was very good with her
and worked together for three years. And today we have a trainer
who actually owns Arabians!
We
love Arabians! They are sensitive, sweet, smart, loyal, athletic
and rugged. Since this experience, we went searching for others,
only to discover there were many who were unloved, not understood
or moved from family to family. That was our mission. Then
we learned more about bloodlines; since then have acquired
mostly Polish- bred Arabians and some with Crabbet lines,
and that is our focus. We love our horses like our children,
nourish them with affection, great food and care. They are
truly beautiful and our life is dedicated to them and others
we will acquire in the future.
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