The Shared Saddle

First Post of the Day

I posted this picture of my tent all ready for School Days on social media after the Feast. I got some nice comments, but there was one that made me gasp and the tears begin.

It was from my dear, long time horsey friend, Linda Duesterhaus, from my Illinois days. One of my best friends, we both had grey Arabs, Indy and Sweetzer. We were raising children and our passions in so many areas were the same. Talk about besties for life.

When I bought Indy, she sold me her English saddle as she was getting a new one. I still have that saddle and it is one of my horsey-life treasures.

Linda and I are friends on Facebook so she saw the photo. And then she made a connection; one I hadn't even thought about.

She was thrilled to see that I still had her former saddle, and I was excited that she'd noticed it and was happy about seeing it again.

Indy and Sweetzer enjoying turn-out together at sunset on the Illinois prairie. (Yes, it really is that flat and with nothing on the horizon.)

Linda (arms outstretched) using Indy for physical therapy.

Thirty years ago, Linda moved to Ohio with her husband and horses. She's a widow now and, like me, no longer has a horse of her own.  I last saw her in person ten years ago, but the friendship remains strong. We still have so many things in common, and I am grateful to have Linda as a friend.

Having said that, though, there are times when I really miss having a horse of my own and this interaction with Linda about the saddle we have both used and loved brought Abby's loss home to me and has made me feel a bit melancholy.

Nevertheless, I will always be grateful for my time with a good friend and good horses. 

Stay 'tooned.

Throwback: Sugarfoot, My Kids' Pony

Yesterday's blog post mentioned Sugarfoot, another of the therapeutic riding horses. He was also my kids' pony and we loaned him out as a therapy horse just as I'd loaned Indy.  This is a little about him.

Back when I had Indy, I also briefly owned a pony named Sugarfoot. He was given to me by a friend who could no longer use him, and my kids enjoyed having something a little smaller to hack around on. He was quiet and gentle, a little naughty at times (what pony isn't?) and, as you can see, could be ridden with just a halter and lead rope.

Sarah, our oldest daughter riding Sugarfoot.

My friend, Linda, (Sweetzer's owner) was a trained therapist in using horses to help disabled children and adults improve muscle tone and cognitive functions. She started up a therapeutic riding program sponsored by the Champaign Park District and NARHA (North American Riding for the Handicapped) and used Sugarfoot and Indy as her two therapy horses.

The program was a huge success and the first of its kind in the area. Linda's program even made the news. (Photos are from the article published by The News Gazette, June 27, 1986.)

Sugarfoot heading into the arena for a ride led by a wheelchair-bound child.

Always a favorite, putting sunglasses on Sugarfoot! Linda used this as a way to help the children stretch and bend, plus it always made the kids laugh! (The adults, too.)

Linda ran the program for several years and then I had to sell Indy and Sugarfoot and she moved to Ohio. The Champaign Park District picked up the program and moved it to another barn with different horses and a different leader. I don't think it is still going, though, which makes me kind of sad.