Growing Up with Horses

by Jennifer Spillane
(United States)

growing up with horses: Jennifer

By Jen (Chief's Mom)

My name is Jennifer and I grew up with horses. Horses have been a part of my life since before I was born. My mother rode quite often while she was pregnant with me. She took me riding with her as soon as I could sit up on my own. I started riding on my own when I was 4 years old. We rode at a friend's farm and used their horses until I was in the 6th grade when we bought our own pony for my sister and I to ride. We named our pony Sageflower and had her for several years until we sold her to a friend because her allergies and asthma we severely irritated by the dusty conditions at the stable where we were keeping her. She was a great pony. She was even trained to drive. My parents bought a 2-person cart that we would drive around in on nice days.

Rajah

While we had Sageflower my mother bought a Morgan-Arabian cross mare named Rajah. I showed Rajah under English in 4-H a the county fair. We bred Rajah when I was in 8th grade and she had a little black filly we named Dove on Mother's Day 1999. Dove is now 8 1/2 years old and living happily with her mother. Several years after we sold Sageflower, my family moved to a farm where we could keep our horses on our own land instead of boarding them somewhere else. We found out shortly after we moved that Sageflower had been sold again and that she was now living just a few miles down the road from us! She is happily living out her days as a children’s pony and a cart pony with her new family.

Graduate

The summer before my senior year in High School my parents let me pick out a stallion to breed Rajah to so I would have a foal as my graduation present. That foal was Chief-the horse I have now (also known as my Red-Headed Step-Child). He was born on Father's Day 2002. He turned out to be the main attraction at my graduation party. Everyone was more interested in seeing the cute new week-old baby than they were in visiting with the graduate!!

Adorable

Chief has been an attention hog from the minute he was born so naturally he had to put on a show for everyone, making sure he was being adorable and cute. He is still a show-off to this day. He loves having his picture taken-he'll even pose for the camera!

Thanks for reading my horse history about growing up with horses!!