When I was just 7 years old I was taking english riding lessons once a week, I was slowly learning to ride and I could walk and trot on my own. On a special day in the spring I was excited to learn that I would be riding a horse named Tucker in my weekly riding lesson. He was a tall thoroughbred, who was feisty to say the least. He trotted in place as I struggled to tack him up on crossties. He lifted his head high in the air as I tried to bridle him. My hands were shaking as I walked him into the ring with him prancing at my side. I was nervous but excited to ride this high spirited horse. I walked and trotted around the ring in harmony with him, my riding instructor commented on how quiet he was with me. We trotted poles on the ground and did figure eights. I felt like a million bucks that I was riding an "advanced" horse as they called him. My instructor asked me if I wanted to canter and I nodded with excitement. I asked for the canter and we took off in perfect harmony around the ring. His canter was as smooth as anything, to this day I have not ridden a horse and felt as good as I did in that moment. He was the first horse I ever cantered. I took my weekly lessons on him and learned how to ride on this special horse.
Years later I got my first horse, Sage, but I still groomed Tucker and spent time with him as he was aging. He worked hard in lessons and taught many kids how to canter just as he had taught me. He was a special horse to me and I gave him carrots and turned him out with Sage whenever I could. We offered to buy him from the schooling barn but they refused, he was a good school horse and they would keep working him.
We soon moved onto a bigger barn were I began to compete and ride with a more advanced trainer. I still visited Tucker and brought him carrots, which were always his favorite. But, after some years he was sold to another schooling barn. I kept tabs on him and tried to buy him several times to no avail. I visited him at the new barn that he was at and promised him when the time came he would be mine. He was passed around to a few other barns and I always was able to keep track of him even if it took my several weeks to figure out which facility he was at.
The years kept passing and I lost Sage to a case of colic. I began my horse rescue soon after to remember him and keep his legacy and name alive. After Sage passed away I moved my other horse to a new barn with a huge grass field for her to be in, we were both grieving the loss of Sage and welcoming an unbroke two year old arabian into our lifes. One day as I rode around the field on my mare I was looking at the horses in paddocks behind my field. There he was, staring at me, looking better then he had in quite sometime. I called out to him and his devil ears perked right up. Again I had found Tucker, he was at a nicer barn this time and looked well taken care of. I kept an eye on him for well over a year until one day he was gone, he was sold to a huge barn on Long Island, a place that was well known for running horses into the ground and dumping them at the auction.
At his point Tucker was over 30 and now I was determined to get him. At this point in my life I was moving into Ketcham Farm, expanding my rescue bigger then I ever thought it would ever be. We moved several of my rescue horses into our new farm and I imagined which stall I would keep for Tucker. I bedded it down, hung new buckets, and got in my car to go find him. I had spoken to a worker at the barn he was at and she said I was welcome to come visit him. When I got there I was shocked at his condition, his feet had not been done in months, he was skin and bones, and his head hung so low it touched the ground. They were planning on using him in their camp over the summer, at the age of 32 they still expected him to work. With tears running down my face I pet him and told him it would be OK. The barn worker explained that they were either going to use him in camp or send him to auction. I offered to buy him and the barn owner explained that she wanted $1000.00 for him. I told her I would be back with my truck and trailer to pick him up.
My mom wrote a check out and we ventured to pick Tucker up. It took two trips to get him on the trailer and countless hours. He was so old he struggled to get up the ramp. Eventually he was on his own to our new farm to live out his life in peace.
Many people who visited our rescue farm in the summer of 2010 can remember Tucker walking around the farm, grazing and wandering. I spent hours grooming him and savoring our time together. He would lay in the grass and sun bathe for hours. He gained weight and started to look a lot better, he started to trot around and get more spring in his step. I eventually had to start putting him in a paddock after he dug through every ones lunches and bags searching for carrots. He was the light of my life and I had not been so attached to a horse since Sage, our bond was deeper then I had ever felt for a horse. Every night before I left to head home I would give him a kiss on his velvet nose and give him a carrot. I taught him how to "give a kiss" and he soon gave them every night after his carrot.
I knew in my heart my time with him was limited and yesterday I had to say good bye. I've become hardened to many things in life after going to the horse auctions and seeing abuse and neglect but yesterday I lay on the ground, sobbing, saying good bye to my best friend. I will be forever grateful that I was able to give him time to be a horse and enjoy life and know love and scratches. He will forever be in my heart and soul. Good bye my Tucker, I'm glad I was able to give you this last year, I will forever remember our time together, you are a special horse, enjoy the green pasture in heaven, you deserve them.
May angels lead you in. . .
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