- Skills / Disciplines
- Rescue
Additional Comments
10 years ago Lucky and Nikki graced my life and the lives of my family when they arrived at our barn in Litchfield, CT at 2am after a several hour trailer trip from where they grew up in upstate New York.
Lucky and Nikki had been bred for the racetrack, and failed training. Their first owner had no further purpose for them, and wanted a good home that would care for them. I had recently completed a 3-year summer program with vaulting, and wanted two horses to train for roman riding (standing on two horses that are moving side by side, with one foot on each of their backs).... (read more)
Lucky did not mind me climbing all over him, but Nikki did. So the roman riding did not come to fruition. Instead we spent many happy hours wandering through the forest, my riding one horse bareback with a halter and lead ropes, with the other following closely behind of his own volition.
I have come to know Nikki as the trickster who loves to play; and Lucky as the wise one who will read your mind and become the ultimate partner, once you earn his respect.
The horses have chosen to mostly live outside, with the warm months spent in grazing fields in the woods, often befriending the local forest creatures. They are inseparable, and experience all of life together.
About 5 years ago, for a collection of reasons, I stopped riding. One of the reasons was that I was feeling a deep dissonance between the English ways I had been taught to ride and relate to horses as a child - mostly “I’m in control, you do what I say;” and the realities of the relationship I had built with these two horses who showed me how much richer and deeper our shared experience could be when I met them where they were. We play, we meditate, we groom each other. I often sleep next to their paddock, and they wake me up in the morning. I have been made whole from those experiences far more than I ever was from riding. The horses have opened up to me through those shared times more than we ever connected when I was riding them. They don’t really like to be ridden. They tolerated it for a while, and then told me they didn’t want that
anymore. They have not been ridden in five years. I intend for them never to be ridden again.
Both horses are happy, loving, full of character, and always inviting engagement and shared experience. They have loved their lives here, and it shows in their health and their temperament. A current favorite shared experience of ours is listening to the spring classical playlist they enjoy when they come inside, and brushing/nuzzling or simply meditating together. I often wish that more people could share in this experience and see this in a therapeutic context.
It is time for the next chapter. The land has asked for the horses to move on, and my life is at a transition point that is asking me to be showing up in the world in ways that are not conducive to regular and attentive horse care.
What we are seeking for their next chapter is a home where they are together, where there is fun and play, where there is engagement with other beings - human, horse, forest creatures; where there are children for Lucky to love; and where both horses can build relationships and
contribute to their community through processes like Equine Assisted Therapy (ground only).
And we are seeking a location within driving distance of Litchfield, CT so I can come visit.
This relationship with the horses has been among the most meaningful in my life, and it is with a mixture of excitement and heartbreak that this invitation is going out to the world. I am intent on finding a new home that will meet their needs with long-term stability.
They are happy here, and they will be happier in this next place. It’s essential that the steward(s) of Lucky and Nikki’s next chapter be listeners, both directly to the horses and to the ways of knowing that teach relationality based on mutual respect and understanding.
Nikki and Lucky are gelded thoroughbreds; aged 15 and 16. Both are barefoot and in good health. Their diet consists of hay, some grass, and a mineral block. They’re considered very “easy keepers.” Under formal terms, this is an invitation for adoption with first right of refusal should the horses move into another chapter later on. Both horses come together, and I am only seeking inquiries from situations without riding.
Thank you for reading this story, and for being part of the mycelial network of communication that enables this to reach the right ones who are themselves putting out the invitation to welcome two horses into their life. If you know someone who this feels resonant to, please share with them.
