A True Friendship| Horse Stories

This horse story depicts about the relationship between a human and a horse to its extremes. A really amazing story about pure love that people share with animals. Just read on…

A True Friendship| Horse Stories

By: Caitlin Johnson

Staring up at the striking copper mare, I could hardly believe she was finally mine. Her soft sorrel coat glimmered in the late January light. The patches of white which splashed her face, legs, and belly gave her a uniqueness which was all her own. The horse gazed back at me with gentle brown eyes, and my heart was instantly (and as I later found out, permanently) stolen by the animal who would come to be my best friend.

“Alright, Caitlin. Up you go.” I was awakened from my sweet trance by the voice of my riding instructor. Mounting the mare, I settled myself into the soft leather saddle and urged her into an easy walk. “Nice,” my instructor called from the center of the round pen. “Keep Ellie just like that as you ask her to pick up a controlled trot.”

Ellie. The name echoed through my consciousness. Ellie. My horse. A wave of giddy shot through my body as I touched my legs to Ellie’s sides, and began to rise and fall softly with the gentle motion of her trot. Though the horse beneath me was barely three years old, she was behaving quite well today, and I was determined to make her the horse of my dreams.

“She looks really nice, Caitlin. Why don’t you go ahead and ask her to canter?” I closed my eyes for an instant as Ellie eagerly stepped into the faster gait. One-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three. I could feel every stride, every muscle moving in her body as we loped along as one.

CRASH! Suddenly, this dream ride became a nightmare. A sheet of ice detached itself from the roof of the indoor arena and plowed its way to the ground. Terrified by the unexpected disturbance, my young mount panicked and charged her way around the round pen. Clinging to her neck, I made every attempt to pull up the petrified horse, to no avail. I felt myself slipping. I couldn’t hold on much longer. Finally shaken loose by Ellie’s mad gallop, I slammed into the round pen and hit the dirt.

There was a piercing ache in my knee and I could hardly breathe. When I decided I wasn’t injured, I rose to my feet, shaken and alarmed. I eyed Ellie nervously, and she watched me with the same expression. I wordlessly walked out of the round pen. My instructor and parents followed me.

“Caitlin, wait!” I heard my dad shout from behind me.

“Cait, you should really try to get back on her,” my mom pleaded.

Without a backward glance, I kept walking. “Sell her,” I yelled through my frightened tears.

That was nearly three years ago. My parents wouldn’t let me sell Ellie. Looking back on that incident today, it was the best thing they could have done for me. Ellie is a magnificent, versatile horse, and she’s my best friend.

Over the years, she’s been so much to me. A friend, a teacher, a responsibility, a confidant, a shoulder to cry on. Though we’ve had our share of ups and downs, we made it through, and are now a wonderful team. Ellie’s given me and continues to give me each day, more than anyone ever has or ever will. She’s given me something to dream about, something to wish and hope for, something to work for, and most of all, something to love. I’ve never loved anything as much as I love Ellie. It’s indescribable.

Ellie has given me a freedom, an escape. There’s nothing-no bad day, no hurt feelings, no broken heart-that a ride on Ellie can’t cure. When riding Ellie, there’s no one in the world except her and I. I treasure my time spent in the saddle; it is the one precious place where all the world is right. There is no hate, no crime, no pain, no war, no death. It is the one time when I am completely free, and that’s a feeling only Ellie can give me. I’ve had so many good times with Ellie, and that’s something no one can ever take away from me. I can only hope that it lasts forever.

Caitlin Johnson

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