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What does it mean to love a horse? What does it mean to love your rider? I think Mazi and I’s story answers both of those. Mazi came to our boarding facility about 5 years ago with a wonderful owner who loved him so. She started travel nursing during covid and asked me to exercise and keep him in shape as she did eventing with him. After about a year of travel nursing she decided to do it full time and asked me if I wanted to adopt Mazi. He was a phenomenal athlete and I wanted to get back into jumpers so it was a perfect fit. Now Mazi was said to be a one person horse and you had to tie him up in the stall if you were going to tack him in there as he could be aggressive. And as we were fine tuning our partnership for shows he was very explosive at the canter, towards the jumps, and after jumps. His trainer that knew him from his previous owner said that it was just how he was and if I got him more balanced it would improve. So we started over with jumps, back down to 18” and trotting. It felt like we were making progress but something was still off to me and then he started having intermittent lameness on his right front. Oh his hooves are soft, use hardener. Oh the saddle is pinching his shoulders, use a different one. Always an excuse that made sense at the time and he would go sound. Until one day he went dead lame. And then we spent a year diagnosing him until we figured out he had deep tissue tendinitis in his hoof capsule. And he most likely had it for years, because after a year of stall rest, corrective shoeing, acupuncture, magnawave, and 100 other things in attempt to heal him he was finally sound! And his personality changed too. Mazi is now the biggest cuddle bug and loves on anyone who comes near him. My sweet guy was in pain all those years 💔 We attempted to rehab him, but with that type of injury the odds are very slim for horses to return to their previous level of work. After 4 months of walking and then trotting to slowly build his muscle back up, we finally got to the canter. And it was lovely! He wasn’t explosive, he was relaxed and happy. Unfortunately, it was short lived though, as after a few rides of being able to canter Mazi started to present lameness again. The decision was made with my vet that he would retire as this level of lameness is his “new norm”. Mazi would never jump again. And I was prepared for that. Mazi is enjoying his retired life and has a forever home with me. I’m able to get on and walk him still and his new passion is my niece. He’s absolutely obsessed with her and we go looking for flowers and butterflies on his back in our pastures. Mazi is also very photogenic and loves a good photoshoot, we most recently did my engagement shoot and he stole the shot in every picture he was in! I say to love a horse is to love them even when they can no longer do the job you had hoped for. To care for and love them regardless. I say to love a rider is for the horse to give their all and try their best, despite not feeling 100%. I wish I knew Mazi’s diagnosis before it got to the breaking point, but he was so stoic and willing to work I had no idea it was so serious. Hindsight is always 20/20, listen to your gut feelings and never stop loving your horse! Because they will never stop loving you!

Carelia. Being honest – owning a horse it is like a partnership. You need to hear “YES” from both sides, otherwise – the partnership will not be successful – neither in human world, nor human-horse partnership. I started to search for a competition horse after retirement of Milords and Michael. I tried more than 25 horses in a month time, but no one touched my heart. Then one of the largest breeders in Latvia contacted me that they have one green mare they want to show me. It was a love from first sight. I tried her – she was totally green but showed good potential and was very easy to ride. We agreed with the breeders that I will present her in the dressage competitions for young horses. We started to build muscles, to gain elasticity and maintain the rhythm. My horse was getting plumper and plumper and everybody suggested me to put her on the diet. Nothing works. I was worried and took her to horse clinic, to check abdomen. And here comes the surprise. She is in foal. Breeders told me they have tried her to foal but it did not work. No, it did, in fact ;) We were expecting a foal in the middle of July.. On the 17th on June my mare was standing in the middle of the heard with a filly besides her. Nobody expected her so early. I named her Kiero Corazon or Kora – @AdrianaB wrote here her story about her. I allow Carelia to be a mum for 1 year. We restarted our dressage work slowly. Everything goes nice and easy until some horse kicked her head. She had a bump near the left ear and vet told me if it not disappear in three days – I will need to show her to clinic. The bump disappears, but the sensitivity of ears remains. She did not allow me to put the halter on her. It took weeks to solve this problem. Then another quest arrives – she turned into a horse who is impossible to catch in the field. I was coming 2hours earlier before the class to catch her. I asked the help from horse psychologist, but after a couple of lessons she said – my horse is too smart and I need to find my own way of communicating with her. Yes, I have found it! Everything was great – we started to compete in dressage – she is spooky and every spook costs a lot of points. We keep trying and she was becoming more brave. I started to jump with her to gain more courage in jumping competitions. Everything goes well, until one unfortunate fall during the dressage class with my coach. I had fell off the horses hundred of times, but this small fall was unfortunate – I’d broken my femur bone into pieces and it means – serious surgery and a long time of rehab. Ok – I need to find a rider for her. I have a couple of great students, but nobody could catch her in the field. Until one of the bravest and most insistent cached her after 7 hours!! She started to ride her during my rehab period and now – she is competing with her in jumping. I am “back on track” as well and hope we will have a lot of wonderful moments with my Carelia. P.S – thanks to PS of Sweden Bridle competition – Carelia got Flying Change Deluxe Bridle. As she had sensitive ears - it was a huge problem with putting on/off the bridle. We have no problem at all putting on PS bridle and taking it off now – she stays calm. The contact is better now and there is no resistance or bracing against the bit. This is a last story of my "horse trilogy". I wish everybody to have Your own horse who is saying "YES" to Your long term partnership.

This is my horse, Sandee. She is a 10 year old quarter horse. It was May of 2020. I was 13 and my school was closed. My father had died the month prior and I was sad. None of my friends could come over because of covid and texting them wasn’t doing enough. A friend of my mom’s who rode at the local dressage barn reached out to me and asked if I wanted to come ride Sandee. She thought we’d be a great pair. I had nothing going so, I agreed. That horse and I clicked instantly. Even though I was a beginner and she was sort of green, she was quite safe and pretty bombproof but she still taught me the challenges of horse ownership. I am now 17. My horse has helped me through grief, heartbreak, and high school. She’s taught me so much and I’ve put her through stressful shows and confusing tasks. She is my best friend and heart horse. She someone I can cry on and hug. I love my horse and I hope we can have more fun experiences in the future.

This is Jasper he was a rescue horse. When I got him he was pretty skinny and didn’t have much muscle. I got him four ish  years ago and he was like my babysitter in my earlier years of riding. He was 18 when I got him now he is 21 and he has been hurt for over a year with multiple different injuries. I have recently started riding him again. He is my heart horse and he has also been a great first horse. And I hope everyone finds their heart horse eventually. 

Just turned one this month ❤️

It's worth believing in yourself and dreaming because small steps taken day by day towards your chosen goal will sooner or later bring success. Some of you might remember my terrible accident and the incredible fear that remained afterwards. It happened when I was standing next to a horse, so any tasks I had to do "from the ground" were extremely stressful for me. Usually, grooming tasks were sometimes impossible to get through or took five times longer.But later, as I got better, I dreamed of having a photo shoot with a horse. It was a combination of Valentine's Day and Women's Day (I recommend this duet - you get photos for two occasions). The photographer submitted our photos to a magazine that presents beauty, fashion, fine art, portrait, and conceptual stories - Top Posters. And they printed them in the March issue for Women's Day. What a pleasant surprise!

This is Red aka "Firestorm" - he's a 16 year old grade Tennessee Walking Horse. I've been Red's person for 5 1/2 years now 💕 His previous owners got him as a 3-4 year old from someone who picked him up from an auction and flipped him. He sat in their pasture for 8 years because they were afraid of him, and eventually they decided to sell him. They first asked the gaited trainer in the area to work with him. He lasted 24 hours before the trainer said he was dangerous and refused to work with him. They then asked me if I could work with him for a few months to get him ready for sale, and it became obivous how much trauma he had. Unfortunately a lot of Tennessee Walking Horses aren't treated very fairly here in the US - they're often forced into their gaits using harsh hands and harsh bits. I was so scared of where Red would end up, so I asked his previous owners if they would consider giving him to me - they said yes. Red had so much trauma with bits that we rode bitless for 2.5 years. Everyone told me he wouldn't be able to gait without a bit, but he did. Little by little and with lots of patience and dressage training, Red has become so relaxed and happy. I've never met a horse that is just SO happy and excited to go for rides. He takes such good care of me and I trust him explicitly. Last year was our first full show season, and we ended up with high point champion at the end of the season with the highest score out of around 200 rides. I've had a lot of issues with confidence over the years, but I've shown Red that he can trust me and in turn he's shown me that I can trust him. He's my forever horse, and I love him to absolute pieces ❤️

Words can't accurately describe what and who Krickit is to me. She is my best friend, my partner in crime, my source of peace and my source of worry, and she is my heart horse. Krickit came into my life when we were both 11 (she is 6 months older than I am). We leased her for about 8 months, then before we took the dive and bought her. I didn't know anything about english riding, let alone dressage, and she hadn't been ridden consistently in 2 years. I was a determined kid, but she was a stubborn teacher. She didn't let me get away with any poor ques or lack of leg, leading to me gaining a very strong seat and confidence in the saddle. But she didn't just teach me to ride well, she also taught me the love of a horse. She showed me that once a horse decides you are theirs, they will be loyal to you till the end if time. Krickit is now 24 and I 23, and we have a bond like no other. I know all her antics, and she knows mine. She loves to ride and run and have fun, but also loves to have lazy days in the sun getting pets and scratches while she dozes. I have a deep understanding of how much of an impact she has on my heart, as a few summers ago she almost died from a toxin, and I thought my world would end. I fought tooth and nail to ensure she survived, thrived, and recovered, and she did! There will be no other horse like Krickit for me. She is my heart horse, and I am her person, and I our love is strong and real and wonderful ♥️