[Dumbdolphin]

Username;; DumbDolphin
Show Name: Black Beauty
Barn Name: Creed
Gender: Stallion
Age: 5
Height: 17.2hh
Halter: Midnight Blue
Discipline: Dressage
Competition:
Out of all of my pets, my dog, Zelda, has made such an impact on both my family and myself. She brings so much joy into my life and I cant think of any day without her being by my side. Zelda was a rescue mutt from Puerto Rico and my family has owned her for about 8 years. She was a second chance for a dog in my family because we were just about giving up on finding the right dog. Zelda is my best friend, a shoulder to cry on, and my safety blanket. In a way she is my anxiety dog because without her I dont think I would have gotten as far as I have the same without her always by my side. Zelda will always be my overprotective, energetic lap dog who loves belly rubs and going for sunset walks.

[buckskin.]

Username;; buckskin.
Show Name: SV The River Styx
Barn Name: Kharon
Gender: Stallion
Age: 5
Height: 17.2hh
Halter: red
Discipline: eventing
Competition:

In early September, 2018, despite having been riding horses for eleven years, I got my official first horse. She was a gift of sorts, but was rather pawned off on to me like loose change and i must admit that at the beginning I did not really like her, I mean, at all. I told myself I was never getting a Standardbred, that i didn't need an animal like that and that I needed something athletic, cowy and smart if I ever wanted to do well in sporting and campdrafting but after being told that I should just sell her and buy something better, I let my stubborn nature show through and I decided I would give her a go.

I put her on the float and took her to work, where I am a trail guide, but we also are a functioning cattle station and breed working horses, both registered and a smaller handful to replace the older trail horses. I spent the first month refreshing her ground work, lunging and preparing her for me to get on and all that fun stuff, so when the day finally came to get on I knew she was ready. She was as quiet as a lamb and tried her very hardest to understand what I was asking of her. We walked around for maybe ten minutes, went out of the roundpen and walked in the smaller adjoining yard then got off. The next day we had our first trot, a week after our first trail. I couldn't believe how sane minded such a (neon) green mare was, she showed me her soul and I couldn't help but after four months start to open my heart to her. I had been so convinced that I was just going to do her up and sell her that I had forgotten to let myself love this mare until she proved to me how much I could really trust her. This was a mare who sat in the paddock for years before I pulled her out and began asking, this was a mare who just wanted to please and please and please, this was a mare who was turned down because of her breeding and the fact she paced. After ten months of having her, and six months after being rebroke, I got my first canter from her. It was uncoordinated and ugly to ride but I was the first and only person to have been treated to her canter, I was the first person to set her up to succeed and I'd be lying to say I didn't cry right there in the middle of the arena.

After that first canter (and falling completely head over heels for this incredible mare) it was almost like everything else fell into place. I would never have believed when I first saw her that one year and twenty days later, I would have such an amazing animal that I could truly call my own. I would never have believed that I could have taught such a horse to do so much. She can lead out trails, will happily walk amongst a group of fifty other horses, will cross any river, walk any trail, I can drag branches on her, pony other horses, open and close any and all gates and so much more. At one year with this horse, I took her to her first outing and she was graded E level Show Jumping, up to 60cm with plenty of room to spare. That same day I had my first fall off her, completely my fault, and she just stood by my side while I regained the ability to breath. I would never have imagined just how amazed I would be by her brain, her ability and athleticism. Every day I am reminded just how far this girl has come and it amazes me that there was a time that I didn't want her. But what I have come to realise that this mare, the disrespectful, pushy, in your space mare I first met, would be exactly what I needed. This mare is what has kept me going more than once, just the though of what she could be and what we could do together. I wouldn't be who am I am without what this mare has put me through and the times I have come to realised just how lucky I am to have such an amazing animal in my life. This is an animal I wouldn't trade for the world, despite what people say and the amount of comments I have gotten about her not being worth it. Because they are unbelievably wrong and this mare will always be worth it, she is worth everything we have put each other through, every dollar I have spent on her, every single time I cried from frustration because she is just not getting something. This mare is worth it all, and she deserves the world and I have come to love her more than anything else in my world. This is the mare that lives up to her name, meet my own special fairy tale, my one and only Fable.

[BadgerBuddies]

Username;; BadgerBuddies
Show Name: BBR Black Tie Affair
Barn Name: Tux
Gender: Stallion
Age: 5
Height: 17.2hh
Halter: Royal blue
Discipline: Hunter/Jumper

Gosh, where to start. My favorite horse on the planet is owned by the university I attended for my undergrad studies, so I will not be using his real name since so many people interact with him and it is so well know how much I love this horse that on the off chance someone who goes there is reading this, they would know who I am. For that reason, I will be referring to him as Valor, as that is the name of the ERRP custom I had done of him.

It all started my freshman year of college. There were so many horses in the barn that it took awhile for me to finally meet him. It was right before our team’s second home show of the season, when me and a friend were cleaning up a couple of the horses and pulling manes, etc to make sure the ponies all looked presentable for the show. She was in charge of taking care of him, and when she pulled him out I was ready to cry over how cute he was. Not just in appearance, but his personality. I’ve never met a bigger ham of a horse. I took a Snapchat of him to post and I swear he posed for the picture.

A couple days later and it was show day! It turns out that the horse I drew to ride for my class was Valor. I had never ridden him before this, but he was super good boy! It was a large class so we only got 5th place, but I love the color pink so I was satisfied with a pink ribbon and a fun ride on the world’s cutest pony. After that day, I didn’t interact much with him for the remainder of the year, but I did select him to be the pony I was in charge of caring for the next few years after the horse I was in charge of caring for was sold.

A few weeks after that show, I was involved in a horse accident that snapped my arm in half right below the head of my shoulder joint. I missed over 2 weeks of my college classes and long story short it was an insanely stressful time in my life. Due to the location and severity of the break, I was unable to ride from the end of March until late October. My doctor has a daughter who rides and shows, so he was kind enough to write a note clearing me for walk/trot work on a calm and stable horse because he understood how badly I wanted to be around horses again. When I showed the note to my coach, she had me ride Valor. As much as I was itching to ride again, I was extremely anxious. I don’t think I would have ever been able to ride again if it wasn’t for Valor. He was somehow able to ease my anxiety. He was always sure to be kind and careful and always take care of me.

The more time I spent with Valor, the more and more I began to love him. He’s extremely goofy, loving, will do anything for food, and I swear that horse always knows when a camera is on him, he’s like a model. Besides the anxiety after my accident, this horse has helped me more than he could ever know. I do have my normal anxiety outside of that from the accident and I was never really open about my mental health in college. I bottled a lot of the anxiety and self hatred up and never told anyone, but he knew and he always helped me through it. I remember one morning a boy I liked did something dumb and essentially broke my heart. My two roommates and friends didn’t offer much comfort, they just told me that he was dumb and I should’ve known, which I did, but it didn’t change the fact that the guy hurt me. With no support from them, I left my apartment early and went to the barn. It was quiet there, so no one could see me sobbing into Valor’s shoulder as I gave him a hug and brushed him to make myself feel better.

My senior year, my physical and mental health kinda turned into a dumpster fire for a hot minute. It was to a point where I was unable to eat or sleep. I dropped 10 pounds in a matter of weeks. I had to miss several riding lessons because I was just so ill i couldn’t physically make it. I started seeing a therapist again on campus. The process to even get an appointment was a nightmare, and the woman they matched me with only fueled my anxiety. I would leave her office crying after almost every session. Many of my sessions happened to be scheduled right before my riding lessons, and nothing helped me more than being with Valor. Not even just riding, but grooming him, feeding him treats, bathing him afterwards if the weather warranted that. Just spending time with him was more helpful than any session of therapy I attended on campus. I remember that semester going on my first and only trail ride at the school with him. It’s still one of my favorite memories to this day. There’s no other horse I could think of to share that experience and all the wonderful views with. Another favorite memory I have with him was a horse show fundraiser that we entered in. Not only was it the best day of riding I’ve had with him, but I dragged him into doing a costume class. I dressed him up and he tolerated the costume until the class was over a judged. We won:)

Graduating and leaving him behind just about broke my heart. Lucky for me, we have a team of horses and riders that led us into our graduation ceremony. One of the usual horses that they use every year for this had been kicked in the field a couple days prior and was lame, so Valor was used instead. The last time I ever got to see him was heading inside for graduation. He saw me as I passed and turned to look at me, his ears going forward. I wasn’t able to stop and pet him because of the ceremony and having to stay in order, and it hurt so badly. It took everything I had to not cry as I walked into the ceremony as I took one final look at him. He is the reason I was able to make it all the way to graduation. I owe him so much. And I haven’t stopped missing him everyday since then.

[Inkiing]

Username;; buckskin.
Show Name: SV The River Styx
Barn Name: Kharon
Gender: Stallion
Age: 5
Height: 17.2hh
Halter: red
Discipline: eventing
Competition:

In early September, 2018, despite having been riding horses for eleven years, I got my official first horse. She was a gift of sorts, but was rather pawned off on to me like loose change and i must admit that at the beginning I did not really like her, I mean, at all. I told myself I was never getting a Standardbred, that i didn't need an animal like that and that I needed something athletic, cowy and smart if I ever wanted to do well in sporting and campdrafting but after being told that I should just sell her and buy something better, I let my stubborn nature show through and I decided I would give her a go.

I put her on the float and took her to work, where I am a trail guide, but we also are a functioning cattle station and breed working horses, both registered and a smaller handful to replace the older trail horses. I spent the first month refreshing her ground work, lunging and preparing her for me to get on and all that fun stuff, so when the day finally came to get on I knew she was ready. She was as quiet as a lamb and tried her very hardest to understand what I was asking of her. We walked around for maybe ten minutes, went out of the roundpen and walked in the smaller adjoining yard then got off. The next day we had our first trot, a week after our first trail. I couldn't believe how sane minded such a (neon) green mare was, she showed me her soul and I couldn't help but after four months start to open my heart to her. I had been so convinced that I was just going to do her up and sell her that I had forgotten to let myself love this mare until she proved to me how much I could really trust her. This was a mare who sat in the paddock for years before I pulled her out and began asking, this was a mare who just wanted to please and please and please, this was a mare who was turned down because of her breeding and the fact she paced. After ten months of having her, and six months after being rebroke, I got my first canter from her. It was uncoordinated and ugly to ride but I was the first and only person to have been treated to her canter, I was the first person to set her up to succeed and I'd be lying to say I didn't cry right there in the middle of the arena.

After that first canter (and falling completely head over heels for this incredible mare) it was almost like everything else fell into place. I would never have believed when I first saw her that one year and twenty days later, I would have such an amazing animal that I could truly call my own. I would never have believed that I could have taught such a horse to do so much. She can lead out trails, will happily walk amongst a group of fifty other horses, will cross any river, walk any trail, I can drag branches on her, pony other horses, open and close any and all gates and so much more. At one year with this horse, I took her to her first outing and she was graded E level Show Jumping, up to 60cm with plenty of room to spare. That same day I had my first fall off her, completely my fault, and she just stood by my side while I regained the ability to breath. I would never have imagined just how amazed I would be by her brain, her ability and athleticism. Every day I am reminded just how far this girl has come and it amazes me that there was a time that I didn't want her. But what I have come to realise that this mare, the disrespectful, pushy, in your space mare I first met, would be exactly what I needed. This mare is what has kept me going more than once, just the though of what she could be and what we could do together. I wouldn't be who am I am without what this mare has put me through and the times I have come to realised just how lucky I am to have such an amazing animal in my life. This is an animal I wouldn't trade for the world, despite what people say and the amount of comments I have gotten about her not being worth it. Because they are unbelievably wrong and this mare will always be worth it, she is worth everything we have put each other through, every dollar I have spent on her, every single time I cried from frustration because she is just not getting something. This mare is worth it all, and she deserves the world and I have come to love her more than anything else in my world. This is the mare that lives up to her name, meet my own special fairy tale, my one and only Fable.

i hated having to judge this because all of y'all had stories that made my heart sob... but this one in particular stuck with me. your pony has the same eyes as my favorite pony <3

I'd worked with your Fable's literal twin over the summer, roughly 60 days. This pony was on loan to our barn for the summer as she was too strong and tough for her younger owner, thus she was in her stall most of the day. A few hours after arrival I'd taken this pony out for a light ride to get her used to our flora and fauna. She had absolutely DRUG me through a crossrail line going away.. but by the end of the summer we were "neckroping" (i had the halter&leadrope on for safety with it, and a bareback pad) that line at 2"3. nonetheless, I saw my Bae in your pony, and that story had me.. so congrats <3 and apologies on my rant xD

[buckskin.]

ahhh thanks so much for the simply handsome boy <3 I feel your pain a little bit, there were a couple times when first started riding Fable where she would drag me through the dirt while I was trying to put a bridle on lol we got over that pretty quick once she figured I wasn't letting go though