My Horse Husband

Many people around the world observed Valentine's Day in February, the celebration of love and affection. While I don’t particularly care for the day because I think that every day should be a celebration of love, I did want to take a moment to celebrate and thank my “horse husband.”  

When I was presented with the opportunity to purchase Fire, my absolute dream horse, the timing was terrible. Our wedding was looming in the next month or so, and we were not at all in the financial position to purchase and maintain a horse. But I wasn’t riding. And I felt a little dead inside. I collected the courage to talk to Donald, and when I finished clumsily explaining how special this filly was and that I wanted to buy her, I expected him to say no. His response was: “Yes. You need a horse.” If there had ever been any doubt in my mind about whether I was marrying the right person, that response made any reservations disappear. He understands how important horses are to me and how special this filly is. And while the logistics of the purchase were challenging, I had his support, and where there’s a will, there’s a way. 

When I traveled to meet Fire and do the pre-purchase exam, Donald was there with me in spirit. When I sent him photos of her, it was clear to him that a connection had been made and I had found my horse. He helped me to juggle finances to purchase the horse, and never once made me feel bad for digging a horse-sized hole in my