Search This Blog

Friday, February 27, 2009

Meet my Magnificent Maggie Mae!


I have finally found "The One"! Her name is Maggie Mae and she is a beautiful bay 10 year old Appendix Quarter Horse mare. Maggie Mae is gentle, sweet, level headed, respectful, smart and pretty much everything I was looking for in my dream horse. My Peruvian Paso, Tango, passed away suddenly right before Christmas in 2007 and I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to get another horse. I even debated selling our Arabian mare, Jazz (who is hubby Jim's horse even though he bought her for me - Jazz and I don't see eye to eye since I don't put up with her Diva BS!) and not having any horses except for our 29 year old POA mare who has earned her right to a forever home here, but that's a story for another post! Over the past year I have browsed the on-line horse selling sites, the main one being AgDirect where I signed up to be notified any time a horse matching my search criteria was listed. So far, nothing looked even remotely interesting and certainly all far from my "perfect horse". I had a budget to stick to, too, which made my search even more difficult. Long story short(er) I finally stumbled on to CraigsList for Colorado Springs and found an ad for a trail horse and clicked through to the CL ad which had another link for Equine Partnership where I then found two horses - one of which was Maggie Mae. I showed the link to Jim and after he watched the videos of Maggie he told me to call them right away and ask if she was still available (this was Super Bowl Sunday mind you). I called Erin and made arrangements to head down to her place right away - turns out she only lives an hour south of us. We spent over 3 hours visiting with Erin and getting to know Maggie Mae. I had not ridden Tango since October 2004 when I took a really bad fall that sent me to ER and then I was on crutches and hobbling for weeks - with a sprained butt (who sprains their butt for heaven's sake?!) I was very nervous on Maggie Mae but she was a perfect little lady - did I mention she can be ridden with nothing but a halter?! We made the decision that Maggie Mae was indeed "The One" and put a deposit on her that day and picked her up the next weekend.

I can highly recommend Erin Howell of Equine Partnership if you're looking for a horse (Erin acts as a broker for others wanting to find new homes for their horses) or if you're looking for a riding instructor. Erin is a Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor who believes in building a partnership with your equine friend. She very graciously offered me a free lesson on her horse, Jude, the day we went to pick Maggie Mae up. She helped me to get past that mental block I had after suffering the injuries on my last ride and feel comfortable in the saddle again. I still need to work on building my confidence but Erin told me " You are a good rider, with impeccable balance and position" which made me feel so good about my basic riding abilities. Her beliefs and training methods are so similar to what I use myself when working with our horses and llamas, I was immediately drawn to her. Here is a link to her website, you should check her out: http://www.equinepartnershiperin.com/

So, I will be sharing more pics of Maggie Mae and updates on her and our journey together. I'm even thinking of starting a new blog just for Maggie Mae - Me and Maggie Mae's Magnificent Journey - or something to that effect. I have no plans for competing or doing anything amazing with Maggie Mae, I just wanted a horse that I could love and trust and ride without fear of being dumped and injured. And Maggie Mae fits the bill...perfectly.

10 comments:

Jen Andersen said...

Congratualtions Brenda. I am so excited for you and jealous. I have always wanted to have a horse. On our small 1/4 acre I will have to stick with the love I get from my 3 heelers. She is beautiful!

Split Rock Ranch said...

Thank you Jen. I have had horses in my life off and on since I was very young. I guess once you're hooked on horses you can't stay away!

Claire MW said...

Oh wow! She's a beauty! I am SO glad for you that you found "the one" that you had been seeking. I can't wait to see more pictures and hear more about the joy you find in riding her.

My mom and I both love our zinnia batts, and she also appreciated the note about being able to needle felt the stained glass batt.

Ride on!

Deanna Lack said...

I'm so happy for you! :) May you have many happy hours in the saddle with her. I've been riding for nigh on 30 years (but near none recently... OY I am out of shape). I recently moved to the country, so I'm hoping some day soon I'll realize the one wish I've had since before I could walk and find the horse of my dreams too. Hmm.. I haven't blogged about horses yet, I'll need to do that.

Give her a carrot and a pat for me. :)

Inspiration By Karen Needle Felted Sculptures of Dogs, Cats, Birds, Wildlife, Portraits, Paintings said...

She is beautiful Brenda~ : )
So happy for both of you!!!

Split Rock Ranch said...

Thank you everyone. I am so thrilled with Maggie Mae and can hardly wait for warmer weather so I can start riding her. I am working on building trust and respect on the ground right now before I get in the saddle. At my age, I just don't bounce like I used to if and when I fall - its more of a splat now!

Anna Larson said...

Congratulations on finding a new horse!. I know how hard it is. Two years ago I lost my old man who had been with me for 23 years. I have other horses who were with me also before the loss and I acquired two more after his death. Nothing will ever totally replace the old love, but new connections get made with other horses.

Anonymous said...

Contrats! She's beautiful! I'm happy that you've finally found one that you love. I am also stopping by to say thank you for your kind words on my blog. It made me smile to see that there is so much support out there when I know something just isn't right. Thanks again!

Split Rock Ranch said...

hobo14: sorry to hear you lost your "old man" but happy to hear you've made connections with new loves!

Nancy: Thank you - and I'm behind you all the way! You go girl!!!

The Silver Age Sara said...

What a wonderful story and I'm so glad you found your match with Maggie. She's so beautiful and what a kind eye. You're very lucky to have such a wonderful trainer so close to you and I know as the months progress you and Maggie will become a team in so many ways.
My goal is to ride in a 100 mile endurance ride. It's in the distant future. Maybe one day we'll be able to ride together.