A Horse Named Fire
purchase exam, took a few days off work, and dragged my best friend to Kamloops with me. Honestly, I could barely sleep the night before. The next morning my friend Seanna said to me, “You look more nervous than you did on your wedding day.” And I was.
We arrived at the farm after, of course, getting hopelessly lost and having to call for directions. After a quick introduction and greeting I was directed to the field adjacent to the parking lot where I found my heart. There was Dondula after all those years; just seeing her made my heart swell, and a few tears escape my eyes. Once we caught up, had a cuddle and made a promise to come back for more, it was into the barn to meet her filly, “Fire Foot MR5,” affectionately known as “Fire.” I had a lot of expectations and emotions tied up in this filly that was just over two years old at the time. And she met every single one of them. It was love at first sight and that love only progressed over the four hours it took to complete a very extensive pre-purchase exam. She literally never put a foot wrong while we poked and prodded her; she handled it all with grace and calmness much past her age and experience.
Leaving the farm that day was hard. Nothing that I would consider a deal breaker had shown up on the pre-purchase, but of course I still needed time to think and figure out how the heck I was going to actually pay for this horse. As soon as we returned to civilization and cell service, I sent a photo of me and Fire to my husband. He replied something along the lines of: “Uh oh – looks like there’s some serious bonding going on there.” At this time I wasn’t actually riding due to a car accident and the need to rest and rehab my shoulder. Buying a young horse who still needed time to grow up would give me the time I needed to heal and also fulfill a lifelong dream of mine.
My dream was to start my very own horse the way I wanted to do it. I have started countless horses for people over the years and have always succumbed to their preferences, desires, and whims of what they wanted that horse to do. But to have one that I could do what and how I liked with was a very exciting prospect. Not to mention the fact that because of who her mother was, Fire was already so incredibly special to me.
It took me a while to finalize the purchase, which in hindsight was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It’s been just about a year and a half since I could proudly call her my own, and a year since she’s been home with me, and I still pinch myself nearly every time I see her. I truly look forward to our journey together, wherever it happens to take us.
