SPLASH ~THE PONY

I realize I post right much horse stuff, but everything here seems to revolve around them.  So just bear with me on this post.  I have to write about it because it's still so much with us.  I wasn't sure what to write, but it's clear to me now because I see her.  I see my Ally at the barn.  It's dusky and she's sitting in the barn swing with her dog.  She won't answer her phone and I know what she's thinking because its on my mind too.   It has been 1 year this weekend that we lost our pony, Splash. This will be his story.

Splash came to a schooling barn as a prospect for young riders.  He was "given" to the barn because he was a rescue.  He was taken from the home he lived because he had been abused.  He was now in a new environment.  He had not been handled or ridden in a while.  He was a challenge.  He didn't trust riders.  He had lost his confidence.  It eventually didn't work out for him to be a schooling pony, but a bond developed between Splash and Ally.  Ally is strong and she is confident.  She gave him his name "Splash" because of the lightening splash of white on his rump.  He came to live with us.  Splash then became like Ally - he became strong and confident.  He was loved.  They were a team.  She wanted him to be a hunter so bad, but he was very twitchy and couldn't stand still when he needed to be still.  He was not a fancy horse. He was what he was and would never be anything bigger or better.  But, the pony could JUMP, and he was fast.  He might have even been a rodeo horse at some point ~ we never knew his history.  So, Splash became a jumper.  He won ribbons.  He won blue ribbons.  He took better ribbons than very expensive horses got.  Everyone loved Splash.

 

They took good care of each other.



He taught her so many things.

Ally never liked this picture because of her form, but I loved it.  I just loved the colors.  I loved to see him "fly" over the jumps.  I think he loved to go fast. 

She loved her Pony. 

Even when she was sick, she took care of her pony.  All the kids at the barn loved Splash.  He always got a lot of hugs, he got treats, and he loved all the attention.



 

Splash loved to go to horse shows.  He would just jibber-jabber talk when getting on the trailer and talked to all the horses when he arrived at the show.  He would always stand still when he had his mane and tail braided.  Splash was an easy-keeper. 



To end this story, Splash took a road trip to the vet school in Raleigh that muggy July night.  Our vet had already been out to our farm that evening and did what she could.  Ally grew up that night. She asked really important questions to the surgeons.  We all struggled with the decision - we cried, we hugged, we crumbled into the wee hours of the morning. Splash was in such terrible pain.  He had a tumor that had probably been there for quite some time, but finally decided to show its ugly self.  We said our good-bys.  Splash was cremated and sent back to us in a beautiful small wooden box. The surgeon had cut his mane and some of his tail which were made into a lovely bracelet by "PonyLocks".   The two weeks following his demise were probably the hardest we had ever gone through.  His stall has been empty all this time until the yearling came a couple weeks ago.  I guess we were ready.