The School of Life with Horses

Why Patrick is Special Part 3

The girl spent 2 weeks around the colt before she gave it a name – as it turns out his spunky nature reminded her of a big sorrel horse that belonged to a boy who did competed in 4-H with her, the boy also competed on the hunter/jumper circuit – the horse’s name was Patrick. So she named the colt Patrick, it seemed to fit. The girl chose “Bigger Than Infinity” for the colt’s registered name, since he was such a huge colt and since she wanted to give the stallion some credit.



The colt surprised everyone by growing and growing and growing as time passed - it became obvious that he wasn’t going to shed out grey either. He had a good mom that looked after him, didn’t let him get away with much, and taught him her gentle way about life.




The mare’s owner and girl decided not to rebreed the grey mare on her foal heat and to follow up with a breeding the next season. And so then weaning time came around the girl decided to deliver the mare back to her old owner as part of weaning her from the baby which was almost 6 months old at this time – more than ready to be weaned. She could then get a head start on the upcoming breeding season.




Breeding Time
The girl groomed the mare up and loaded her into the trailer. The mare sighed as if relieved that weaning time had finally come and offered no longing calls to the colt. She had done this many times and it was no big deal to her. When the girl arrived at the barn she filled the owner in on the mare’s wormings and vaccinations. The girl immersed her self in small talk so as to not get sad. She tied the mare up to the owner’s trailers and said her good bye while stroking her long forelock, then left for the 2 hour drive home. Feeling sad but looking forward to seeing the mare again in a year.

The Unexpected
A month or so passed and the girl was immersed with working with her colt, who was still growing like a freak, when she received a call at work. The mare’s owner called and left a message for the girl to call back. The girl was concerned as the mare’s owner sounded upset. The girl called back right away when the line was answered at the other end the girl said “Hi there, just returning your call – tell me Gracie is okay…” the answer on the other end was a sobbing “I can’t…I’m so sorry” a long silence followed. The mare’s owner told the girl the mare had coliced the night before, and been rushed to surgery. When she had been opened up the vet had found that the mare’s lower intestines were dead. The mare’s owner’s made the decision to euthanize the mare. Gracie was gone. Poor, poor Gracie...

The girl hung up on the mare’s owner unable to continue speaking, an image of her Gracie in a vet’s operating room, opened up, passing away without anyone to hold her that she trusted was overwhelming her. She sprinted to the bathroom where she called the barn’s owner Debbie and broke down. Debbie held the girl together, told the girl to take a few minutes to cry then “cowgirl up” clean up, finish work, then come out to the barn after work.

Time Heals All Things
The girl finished work that day, but it was a sad time for the girl. She found refuge with her horses and the lovely colt. She knew he did not understand when she told him that his mother would not be coming back, but she felt that it was the right thing to do. The colt was one of the few things that lifted her spirits during that time.



As time went on the pain of Graces memory became less for the girl and the colt continued to grow and show great promise as a show horse. As time passed the colt also added a white mane and tail to his color pallet. The girl thought that perhaps her endless whining about her current show gelding's boring solid sorrel color caused God to grant her all the chrome one could want on Patrick, if not the gray color. The girl hoped the colt would turn out to be a very good mover because there was no way he was going to be missed in the show ring.


Time For School
Soon the girl had done all she could with the colt, she with the help of her mother had taught him to lead, and to have his feet handled. The girl also taught him to move around at a walk-trot and lope and reverse in a round pen. She taught him stop and come to the center of the round pen to meet her, and the girl sacked him out with almost anything she could grab. She had used the lead rope to get him used to the feeling of a girth and gotten him used to being tied up.

Happy with the talent that he was showing and his size the girl made the decision to so the then frisky colt to the trainer the winter when he turned 2.

To be concluded next time....