Finding the right horse for you. A tribute to Cuna.

I am slightly at a loss for words as I try to write this...

Aimee was faced with the most heart-wrenching horse-owner decision this week. It's the decision that we all dread and the most important and selfless act one can do on behalf of their equine partner. She let her beautiful partner Cuna go. She could no longer watch as he suffered uncomfortably and she made the call to let him pass with dignity. For all he did for her in their short duration together it was the least she could do for him. Over the last few months she's watched as his condition has gone up and down, she's felt hope and defeat and finally when things truly started to look bleak she was able to do the right thing for him. To say I admire her would be an understatement.

You see, I was the kind of girl that wanted to ride ever since I was a little kid. I would ride anything (mostly because my parents couldn't really afford to support my horse-crazed activities) which led to catch riding bad ponies and sale horses. Looking back, I deliberately put myself in danger simply because I wanted to ride. In Florida, I would arrive to shows at my trainer's farm and get legged up on whatever horse or pony she was trying to sell. It was never pretty watching me get around a jump course or xc, but I learned how to be a scrappy rider that could stay on. At the time, that was all that really mattered. I had horses in my life and I was happy. As I got older, something started to change. I took a couple of really bad falls (after a stint of 11 years without falling) and my mortality, which was something I had never given any attention to, was moving to the forefront of my mind. I took a long hiatus from riding during college and few years afterwards but when I got back into riding back in 2008 I felt fearless again. I was exercise riding draft horses at an equine therapy center. I galloped through the woods without a care in the world. I wanted to find a trainer to ride with and get some finesse back so I started taking lessons again. She had a young, feisty mare to give me as a project and I took her on, blindly because (again) I just wanted to ride. She was dangerous, and wild, and 100% the wrong horse for me. She taught me so much in our short time together, but despite the fact that I knew she'd never trust anyone the was she trusted me, I couldn't convince myself to buy her. My trainer offered more than once, but in the deepest corners of my heart I knew that all she would do was further shake my confidence. I had taken her from being almost completely feral to school-horse quiet in the barn. She'd let me do anything with her but she was outright dangerous with anyone else at times. I wanted a horse I could event, foxhunt, trail ride, and do a little bit of everything with and she simply not the right horse for me. I'm glad that in the end I didn't have to make the decision, but it still hurt like crazy when she was shipped away.

Fast forward a few years and lots and lots of lessons and horses later and I found myself at a farm in Conowingo, MD riding some OTTBs with a friend of mine. Even though I wasn't looking for a horse, she kept legging me up on these green beans. I liked a few of them but nothing really clicked. She truly understood what I wanted in a horse. Something young-ish, good brain, not too big and not too small, a horse that I could do a little bit of everything and that would make me confident again. She found me that horse unknowingly with Riley. He restored my confidence with every ride and I knew I had to have him. He was (is) without a doubt, the right horse for me and our journey is just beginning.

But the truth is, I wouldn't have understood that without Aimee. Following her journey and struggle with Izzy, I watched as she made the difficult decision to sell her on and start looking for a new partner. She was really at a crossroads in her horse-y life and then Cuna came along. I cannot put in to words how much she needed him and he needed her at the exact moment in their lives, but the transformation with Aimee's riding and the blossoming of her confidence was inspiring. I wanted that relationship with a horse. It feels like a real honor to have been able to follow along with them over the last year or so.

When I found Riley and began to blog about him, Aimee would always say that Riley was like a mini-Cuna. I always thought that was a really nice thing to say, but now, after everything they've been through it seems like the most incredible compliment anyone could give my horse. If Riley turns out to be 1/8th the horse that Cuna was I would be the happiest girl in the world.

That's what the right horse will do for you... There's not enough time on this Earth to waste with the wrong horse. Everyone deserves to have a little bit of Cuna in their life.

Now go hug your horse!