Meet Sis
The Horse That Started My Journey
Today’s blog is about the best first horse a girl could have – Miss Sis! Her registered name is Some Kind Of Chuckle and she is an American Quarter Horse.
As you know from a previous post, I found Graystone Stables when I purchased a Groupon for 10 riding lessons. I started out taking lessons on the barn owner’s school horses and then my wonderful mare became available for half lease. A half lease is when the owner of the horse offers another person to share the use of the horse as well as share in the cost of board and upkeep. I leased Sis and was able to take my weekly lessons on her as well as up my riding to 3x a week which gave me an excellent opportunity to practice the things that I was learning during my lessons. As you know I had never taken a formal lesson and had only previously been on birthday trail rides so I was soaking in all the knowledge and horsemanship skills I could.
Sis was a patient partner and a very experienced 4-H horse with a lot to teach me. I fell madly in love with her and when she became available for sale 3 months later, I snapped up the chance to make her my very own. Sis and I participated in a number of schooling shows both in dressage and some western classes and enjoyed hundreds of trail rides together. She was always level-headed and gave me her all. Sis came with a complicated history and had some significant medical issues which limited what we could do together. Her advanced arthritis and hoof issues did not dissuade me from wanting to give her the best possible life I could and spend as much time with her as I could. The barn owner warned me when I purchased her that she would only be a walk-trot horse and not a horse that would grow with me. I didn’t mind one bit and with some therapies including joint injections, chiropractic, bodywork, and acupuncture, Sis was the perfect horse for me and we were able to participate in dressage schooling shows for many more years and trail rides for years after that until it was time for her to retire.
I fully retired Sis about 6 years ago as her body just was not able to carry a rider any longer. She lives her days at Black Horse Farm overseeing the minis and spreading joy to all who visit. We take walks through the neighborhood, stopping along the way for her to graze. She still loves to have a roll and a little run in the area from time to time and I count my blessings every day she is with me. At 28 years old she is definitely no longer in her prime but she is the matriarch of the farm and living a well-deserved retirement. Here’s to the mare that started it all!