My daughter’s first horse, Sion’s Shadow, is living a life of retirement at a beautiful property north of Atlanta. He is young…only 13 years old. But, he has been unable to “do his job” for 2 years. Early onset arthritis has disabled him and only recently his discomfort has been alleviated thanks to the natural fusing of his hind coffin and pastern joints.
Sion is a beautiful Dutch Warmblood, 16.2 hands, black bay with a kind and generous personality. He took Jessie to both the Festival of Champions (Top 12 Championships) and the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (The Junior Olympics for Equine sports.) the first year she embarked on qualifying.
Recently, in part because Sion’s comfort level has so drastically improved, Jessie decided to ride him and see what he was capable of doing. My husband and I didn’t go to watch…not sure what to expect. According to both Jessie and Sion’s caretaker, it was magical!
Sion “perked up” when he saw Jessie with the saddle pad….and when she placed it on his back he turned to look at her with tremendous excitement. Jessie tacked him up…saddle, girth and finally, the bridle. She led Sion to the sand arena and mounted him. He was a different horse…no longer the head of the herd in the pasture…suddenly he was transported to glory as the wonderful dressage horse he remembered being not that long ago.
Jessie was able to walk and trot Sion, but not canter. He limped a little...and the next day was very stiff and sore. We upped his “bute” to help with the discomfort…I guess, a little like a weekend warrior.
Sion was Jessie’s “first boyfriend” and it was wonderful for them both to have that time together again reliving their commitment to each other. I hope Jessie will ride Sion again soon…
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