The Four Quarter Horse

Day 5, 12 Days of Rescue

By Carolyn Miele

Back in 2004 I realized my dream of having my own barn. The construction started in October, and a close friend knew I was looking for a few good school horses to teach lessons with once it was completed. My friend had a farrier who had a farm a few hours west. The farrier had told my friend he had an older mare at his farm who had been a high level event horse who had gotten hurt during competition and since then, had been living at his farm. He knew she was a well trained horse and had been sound for years at that point. He wasn’t looking to sell her to make money, he just wanted her to have a chance to be someone’s horse and work again. Her name was Misty.

So a warm October day, I drove out to take a look at Misty. She stood nicely in the cross ties while I saddled her up, but I felt terrible riding her. She was quite thin, with a scraggly coat and there really wasn’t anywhere suitable to do much riding, since the ground was hard and uneven. Nevertheless, I had come to try her and so I mounted.

Wow! What a nice horse! She tried her best to show me everything she could do. I quickly dismounted and told her owner I’d come back for her when my barn was finished being built. How disappointed she must have been when I left and didn’t return for months, but I had not forgotten her.

In April of 2005, my barn, fencing, and arena were completed. My husband and I drove the trailer out to pick Misty up. We paid her owner the $1.00 he requested–to make a legal sale–in quarters. We haltered Misty and led her to the trailer. She nearly dragged my husband up the ramp, put herself in place, and off we went.

A few hours later we pulled in our driveway and opened the trailer. Misty was so eager to check out her new home, she broke the trailer tie and backed herself out (something she never did again). As we walked her into the barn, she looked around seeming to say, “Yes, now this is the kind of barn I want!”

It took several weeks of care and special feeding to see some improvement in her weight and coat, but she thrived. Her ankles had been covered in mud for so long that if I used regular grooming tools to remove it, her skin came off as well. Consequently, every evening she and I spent an hour or so in the wash stall, me sitting on a bucket and she standing patiently and appreciatively while I ran warm water over her legs and gently massaged all the mud off. She was so happy to be cared for.

Misty was like a Ferrari. When you rode her, you’d better be ready to ride what you asked for because  she’d already done as you asked even before you were done asking! She didn’t care for beginner riders; they were beneath her. You had to earn the right to ride Misty, but, if she felt you were worthy, WOW! What a ride! She was a phenomenal horse and she knew it.

In all the years of riding many different horses, no horse beats Misty. She made you feel like you could ride Grand Prix! On Misty, anything was possible. Her canter was so smooth your body couldn’t help but follow effortlessly. And jumping?? Just point and shoot! As soon as she was sure you were asking for a particular jump, her ears pricked forward and you felt as if you were on a missile on its way to the moon! She was always happy to be saddled and have a chance to work.

Misty was dear to many riders in my barn over a span of 5 years. She showed beautifully and the judges loved her as well. Misty moved with us to Mississippi in fall of 2010 and was retired on our 40 acre farm where she enjoyed mild winters and endless days in the pasture. When Misty was 29, she died a natural death out in the pasture with her friends nearby. She is buried in that same spot.

Misty (right) hanging out with her best friend Casey.

I can only imagine what Misty and I could have done had I found her at a younger age, but that doesn’t really matter. Misty showed me, my husband and many others how wonderful a truly great horse can be! Those were the best four quarters I ever spent!

Carolyn, a.k.a., Carrie is one of my horse buddies from the mid-1990s when we were both newly entering the world of hunter/jumper shows in the Chicagoland area. She rode her gorgeous bay mare Flo “Formal Affair” and I rode DC under the guidance of our beloved trainer Joanne Wood of Little Wood Farm. In addition to having impeccable taste in interior decorating and a huge heart for animals, Carrie is an equine massage therapist on the side. I moved to California and Carrie moved to the South, but thanks to the magic of Facebook, we’ve been able to stay in touch and continue to exchange information and ideas on all things horse. 

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