A Big Thank You to Fugly Horse of the Day!

Much love for Fugs! What a surprise it was to see Alibar’s handsome face on my favorite blog. Cheers to Fugly Horse of the Day for the support and kind words in her post about Alibar on October 10, 2008.

I’m dedicated long-time reader of the blog. FHOTD is known for its enthusiastic audience and the author’s strong ideas; she champions many important issues in the equine industry and brings brutally honest comments about modern horse breeding practices to a very large audience. There are regular features about equine rescues and the people who are working their hardest to make a real difference in the problems we see in the world of horse ownership.

The same group of readers who can spot a “nest” a mile away bombarded my inbox with some of the most heartfelt and touching stories I’ve ever read. A month after saying goodbye to Alibar, I spent an entire day in tears- tears of wonder at the universal experience of saying goodbye to a special horse. Some readers lost their beloved horses decades ago and told me how they could still feel the pain like it happened a day ago. Some readers have young horses but felt the sting of reality that some day their wide-eyed greenbeans will be old men. Some people are getting ready to euthanize their old or ill horses and told me how my words gave them the confidence to be there for their horses until the very end.

No matter the discipline, the breed, the geographic location, we all must care for our equine friends from birth to death. Horse owners of every walk of life have long been doing what I did for Alibar: soaking hay cubes, researching senior feeds, hunting down skilled farriers, speaking with vets, and exercising our senior horses. Alibar was my first horse- from 1989 to 2008, I took care of his every need. My hard work paid off- Alibar was full of energy and serviceably sound until he became sick this summer. We had issues to manage, like navicular syndrome and poor teeth, but we made lifestyle changes- we went from jumpers to dressage and from hay to soaked hay cubes. We were still occasionally jumping small fences and competing in dressage shows until only a few months ago. I never stopped learning from Alibar- he was even more fun to ride in his late 20s than he was in his physical prime.

My heartfelt thanks to every single person for every single email and blog comment that I have received since Alibar’s death. It makes me beam with pride that my little spotless Appaloosa touched the lives of so many respected horse owners. All of the photos, books, and proud bragging in the world cannot do Alibar justice- there will never be another one like him.