Liz Howell

Daisy has an interesting history. Since she was born and purchased from the breeder as a weanling she has had only two homes twice. I remember the people down the street bringing her over for me to see their new horse. She was an ugly  unhealthy little thing with a huge scar on her back leg and I really did not want them to let her get close to my horses. Time went on and Daisy was led everywhere they went, she probably had more leading miles than I have ever put on one of my riding horses. They took her swimming, down the highway and to Winn-Dixie.  Before she was two she had probably seen more kids, cars, dogs and anything else than most horses see in a lifetime. She had also been bitten by a nest of water moccasins and almost lost her life. They would come over for advice on feeding and taking care of Daisy and as she became older it became clear they were doing what they could to take the best care they could of her. Daisy began to blossom and everyday that I drove past their place I began to see what a nice horse she was going to be.

One day they came to me and asked if I wanted to buy Daisy as they were having financial problems and needed to move.  I bought her right away as they had already started riding her and I don't believe she was quite two yet. I fed her and let her be a horse for several months and then sent her off for training. We started our show career off and on for awhile and then I sent her off for some tuning up at the trainers. What a mistake, the poor thing had been flipped over a pile of wood hurting her unblemished leg and developed ulcers while there.  Note to self: Mellow horse with aggressive trainer do not mix. Thousands of dollars later and with much off time she was ready to be slowly put back to work.

The people that had her originally got it together and wanted to buy her back, I knew how much they cared about her so it wasn't an issue for me. I told them her sad story and they said they didn't care that all they would be doing was trail riding her. Now three or four years later I have her back, the previous owner is very ill and since we are the only homes Daisy has ever known it was decided to bring her back home with me.  She is still the sweet horse I remember and other than some old saddle scars looks pretty much the same. The huge scar on her back leg turns off many people but what they don't understand is that she has had that since she was 3 months old and has never been lame on it. I look at it as a testament to her life of being a survivor.