Dakota's Story

I realize that it's not practical for everyone to go back and read the entire blog to find out who these creatures are, what their story is and how I ended up with them, so I thought I'd go back once in a while and profile one of my "kids." That and I'm reorganizing my photos on my computer, which not only takes up way too much time but also inevitably leads to reminiscing....

On September 4, 2006, a shipper pulled into my driveway and unloaded a wonderful birthday present for me. Her name was Truly Apparent.

Truly had been rescued by Doris Bennett and rehabilitated by Barb Deale, two women I am forever indebted to for allowing me to bring this wonderful mare into my life.

Truly had a total of 40 APHA halter points and a ROM in APHA Youth Halter. She had also once been used as a child's lesson horse, but arthritis had brought her to the point that she could no longer be ridden. Doris and Barb had already had her fully checked and ok'd by their vet to carry a foal, so I was looking foward to breeding her to Eddie the following spring.

Fast forward, spring of 2008:

Truly gave birth to a gorgeous filly.

I had leased out Truly and Mercedes to Sheri Hagen to breed to her son of Ima Cool Skip, but Sheri decided to change course as many of us do, and Truly, Mercedes, and their babies ended up at Sandra Layton's house. Her sister Jennifer claimed Truly's baby for her own and called her Bambi.

Unfortunately Bambi would be Truly's last baby. Truly began to deteriorate over the summer despite the very best care the Laytons provided. I will be forever grateful to them for giving Truly possibly the best summer of her life Her companion was their 30+ year old appy gelding and they spent the summer in their own large, green pasture, with huge shade trees and their every need tended to.

Despite this excellent care the day came for me to have to say goodbye to this wonderful mare. She was laid to rest beside her elderly companion, the two of then buried side-by-side on the Layton's land. I can't say enough how appreciative I am of them to have helped me during this time, made sure Truly passing went smoothly and supported me during this difficult process.

I did get to see Bambi when I went out to say goodbye to Truly. I knew she was in the best of hands, so I didn't really give her a second thought to be honest. I felt bad for the awkward little filly, having just lost her momma, but she was Eddie and Truly's baby and I knew she'd be just fine.

A few months later, though, in talking with the Layton's they didn't think Bambi would really fit their needs. I had Fabian, who Jennifer was very interested in, and who would fit her needs much better, so Bambi came to live with me, and Fabian went to the Laytons.

Unfortunately there were two issues with Bambi. First of all, I already had a Bambi! After a few weeks of tormenting myself over this delimma, I decided to call her "Dakota," which in Lakota means "friend." Dakota is everyone's friend. She's a sweetheart!

Second, her dam's leg issues weren't entirely manmade as we had all thought, and although her other foals had been born straight, Dakota was predisposed to some epiphisitis issues. If you've been following the blog, you've seen me documenting the steps I've taken to clear it up. The only reason I've had this kind of success with her is because this is an issue very common in halter horses and my previous experiences have afforded me a lot of education with OCD and epiphisitis.

In other words, I'm not that smart and you all know what kind of luck I usually have. Luckily, I've learned this all through experience and thankfully it's come in handy! I'm pleased as punch to report that Dakota is almost completely normal (pics coming soon, I promise). Obviously her leg issues have never slowed her down at all....

Today Dakota is just a happy as a clam, turned out with her pals and their giant bales of hay.

She's turning into a gorgeous girl, despite the current fuzz. I plan on breaking her out last, just to ensure her growth plates close completely and her legs are as solid as can be when I go to ride her, so she'll probably stay out to pasture for another year or more. I've entertained the thought of turning her into a cart horse.

Now, anyone out there want to teach me how the heck to do that?