Uncanny Resemblance!

My sister Leslie invited me to go to the Indiana Horse Rescue in Frankfort and look at some horses with her. She lost her Standardbred, Loomis, last winter, and her gelding, Beau, has some health issues and may need to be put down. That would leave Skippy alone, and Skippy is blind and needs a pasture mate.

So, she picked me up early this morning and we headed out into the hinterlands of central Indiana. The rescue place had at least one Standardbred available, and Leslie wanted to take a look at her. But when we walked out in the pasture to look at the mares, my heart stopped. This is what I saw:

 This mare is the spitting image of my first horse, Amy. Amy has always been my favorite of all the horses I've owned, and we had a very close bond. In fact, she got so attached to me, she would not let anyone else ride her, and actually backed through a barn door (it was closed and so she splintered it) when Leslie got on her.

One of my favorite memories of Amy is of an early summer morning with the sun rising over the Wabash. Amy was lying down out in the pasture. She allowed me to stretch out with her, propping myself up against her warm body, and we lay in the grass, enjoying the beautiful start to the day.

 I walked all around this mare, and the resemblance to my beloved Amy was uncanny.

 The blaze is a bit wider than Amy's, but the strawberry roan coloring, the blonde/silver mane and tail, the small anklet socks... this horse could be Amy's twin.

 Leslie really wants me to get her and keep her at her farm. Truth be told, I could afford to buy her and to keep her. But time is a real factor plus I don't ride any more. Getting this gal would be more to have her as a pet than anything else.

Still.... I am tempted. She was rescued last year from a man in Indianapolis who had twenty horses on two acres, and they were underfed and doing poorly. Abby (as I call her; although I keep thinking "Amy!!") is twelve and has never been ridden, but she was used as a halter horse for 4-H. When brought to the rescue center, her front hoof was so overgrown and in need of trimming, it had curved under and to the side. They're still working on correcting it back to a normal hoof. But, she gets around really well and gallops around freely.

I cannot get this little mare out of my mind. I have been teary and emotional since I saw her. Should I do it? Should I get her and give her the good home she deserves?  I am certainly thinking about it.

Stay tuned!