Some sad news to report today. For anyone who remembers Tequila, my first horse, she was put to sleep this past weekend in Fort Myers, Florida.
I adopted Tequila from a horse rescue in Lindsay, Ontario called "Heaven Can Wait Equine Rescue" and a very nice lady named Claire. Tequila was just a yearling at the time and cute as cute can be!
I originally went looking at another horse, but it was very shy and not sociable. Tequila on the other hand was very sociable and I took to her right away. She was delivered to me on her first birthday to Bridgecreek Stables. I worked with her on the ground, grooming, saddling, picking up her feet, touching her ears and face for about a year. She helped me through some tough times too. I started to ride her halfway through her 2 yr old year and it was the first time I had the opportunity to start a young horse all the way through the groundwork and then mounted work. She had a few tricks she liked to play, like sneaking out of her halter in the crossties by snapping her head to the side and undoing the quick release, and then just standing there.
With all the coaching I was doing by that time, I moved her over to the farm I was working from and she made a whole bunch of new pony friends. I applied for Meredith Manor International Equestrian Center and planned to take Tequila with me.
Tequila quickly gained a reputation for having a very outgoing and quirky personality. She was very opinionated and a few times, just threw herself into the ground to protest whatever the rider was asking for! No one was ever hurt by her, and she sure gave the students who did ride her some good stories!
Eventually graduation came about and I had a job offer in England I was seriously considering. My roommate had a facility waiting for her at home and desperately needed some good lesson horses to get her started. She bought Tequila from me and I was thrilled to be able to keep in touch with her and have the opportunity to visit her. I knew she would receive the best care at her new home.
I graduated, and 3 months later Tequila set off for her new home in Fort Myers. She got quite sick for the first little while and we later laughed that both she and I had problems with the heat! I was having heat stroke problems regularly that summer, and the vets in Florida couldn't figure out what was wrong with Tequila, other than an adverse reaction to the strong heat waves. I visited with Tequila twice since graduating in '05 and had to laugh at the bond she and her buddy from Meredith Manor, Gus shared.
Tequila started to recover from the heat issues and just this past summer was sold to one of Teresa's students at South Florida Equestrian Centre. The deal was made that Tequila would stay at Teresa's farm and remain part of the family. Tarin, Tequila's new owner, became the centre of Tequila's life. Regular baths, riding, treats and even showing in the gaming classes at the local shows became the routine. Tarin and Tequila made a great team and I got to hear some of the stories first hand from Tarin's mom Amy when we did our trip to Congress in October.
Unfortunately, just weeks before Tarin's big plans to show Tequila at the local fair, she was kicked by another horse. The kick shattered her leg and left no choice but humane euthanasia.
Tequila was buried underneath her favourite butt-scratchin' tree.
Although she was only ten, Tequila's life was considerably extended from what could have been a very early end as a yearling before she was rescued by Heaven Can Wait. I am indebted to the people that loved her and enriched her life, especially Teresa, Tarin and the whole family at South Florida Equestrian Centre.
