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(3) Natalie's ‘Sam’ 
Please meet our special pony Sam. Sam is a 14 hand chestnut gelding, aged 30 something. He is living a life of luxury with 2 feeds a day, running around a 20 acre paddock with 2 young fillies, attending pony club once a month and the occasional Gymkhana. But Sam’s life wasn’t always this good and this is the story of how we came to acquire this old gentleman.
‘BOMBPROOF PONY, LIKES WALKING’
read the advertisement in the local paper. Sounded like the perfect pony for our then 4 year old daughter Natalie who desperately wanted a pony to ride. So I made the call, and visited one very cold Saturday afternoon. There we found him, standing in a dirt paddock, by himself, with a canvas rug and hood on, in the middle of winter. The first thing I said was, ‘what a kind eye’, so after Natalie swore to love at first Sight, he was bought out of the paddock to be saddled up for his test Ride. Well, the rugs came off and my heart sunk. Underneath was a Woolly coated, thin frame of a pony. No muscle, ribs showing, flanks Sunken in, he was definitely in desperate need of some tlc. ‘He’s got a Bit of arthritis too’ the man selling him said, as if poor Sam didn’t have enough problems to deal with. So the decision was made to buy This dear old fellow with the kind eye. I figured if he couldn’t be rehabilitated enough for her to ride properly then he would definitely make an excellent pet for her To be around anyway.
So home he came and we started on him straight away.
Firstly, I called the vet. Diagnosis…heart murmur, about 100 kgs Underweight, very very aged, undernourished but otherwise OK And with some treatment, good feeding and patience, he should Be fine. Secondly, chiropractor for the strange ‘clicky’ action in The shoulders. Diagnosis…huge stifle injury preventing him from Stretching out properly, arthritic knees and shoulders and neck way ‘out of whack’ due to having A huge fall or similar. So quite a few laser and acupuncture treatments later, he started to become more free moving and be in less pain. While he would never suit a hooning teenager, he would be fine for what Natalie required. Thirdly, the farrier. Diagnosis…huge abcess in the sole of offside hind hoof. Can things get any worse! So treatments, treatments and more treatments, Sam started to blossom, all the while under the constant supervision of Natalie, now aged 5. They seemed to bond straight away. He would let her brush him for hours on end. He would eat carrots ever so gently from her hand, but best of all, he respected her, and would not hurt her in any way. They say a horse chooses its owner and Sam definitely chose her.
In February 2003 Natalie and Sam joined the local Pony Club, where they are excelling. Sam loves his outings and Natalie is so proud when people compliment her on what a lovely quiet pony she has. She has had a couple of falls (her own fault for laughing too much and falling off), but has the confidence of knowing that Sam would never hurt her and just gets back on.
In March 2003 I took Natalie and Sam to their first show. He had absolutely perfect behaviour as usual and Natalie won her first ribbon. What a thrill!!! She was absolutely over the moon.
Sam now has regular EMRT treatments and has a special diet To help with his arthritis. He is an absolute gem. He shows What a little bit of time, patience and care can do. Natalie (now aged 6) and Sam are now preparing for the next showing season, which should see Natalie as an independent rider out and about.
Sam has no fancy name or bloodlines, nor does he need them. He will never be an Olympic athlete, but he will always be ‘The King’ in Natalies eyes. He will live his life out with us as he is just too precious. Natalie now wants to be able to stand up on his back and crack a whip. And with her determination and his willingness to please her, they will probably accomplish this.
We love you Sam!
Thank you to all the angels which helped us through the hard times with our loyal friend. Without their help we may not have our delightful friend with us.
STOP PRESS!!
Natalie and Sam recently attended their first Pony Club Gymkhana which saw them take home ribbons in every event, including 2nd best presented (out of 14) and 3rd child rider (out of 10). November also saw Natalie awarded with the Pony Clubber of the Month award, having progressed now to riding (and even trotting) completely on her own.
4) My Life with Lord
By Leslie Moore
I met Lord one evening back in May of 1994, he was just over 3. He was traveling with Beth Lynch at the time. She had recently rescued him and 12 other Hovawarts, a rare breed of dog, from a distressing situation in Florida. I don't know much about that time. (That's Beth's story.) I just know that when I met Lord he was scared of his own shadow. His brown eyes betrayed the worry and fear he carried with him. His face was drawn so tight and his tail tucked between his hind legs, as if glued to his belly. His experience with people had him flighty and scared, his life having been spent mostly in a kennel.
Two months later, near the end of July, Beth called me in a panic. She needed to get Lord from her home because Lord was trying to take advantage of Beth's dog, Ditto. Ditto is another Hovawart and was recovering from hip surgery. Lord finally felt a little secure to want try and move up the ladder. Beth had showed love to him and started him to think that there may be some good people out there. Lord wanted to love Beth and be her main dog and Ditto was in the way!
.. Can't blame him really.
This time the timing was better so I said I would be glad to help and in fact if it worked I would love to keep him. Beth brought him out to me, a day later he got away, poor Beth came all the way back (about 2 hours drive) and 2 days later we were able to find him with the help of several animal communicators. (Beth has a story about this event too, it's her story to tell but through Lord, Beth discovered that she had the gift and could communicate as well .)
Lord actually started out being my oldest daughter, Amanda's dog. But when school started three weeks later he needed more and I needed him and we needed each other so poor Amanda lost the dog, but tells me she understands and I hope she really does. Amanda does know that he was my best friend for the almost 4 1/2 years that he was in our lives.
It truly took me years to bring this magnificent dog around but I did it. From a tail that took at least 6 months to pry lose using TEAM methods, class work, patience and most of all love to a dog whose whole body became putty in my hands. We learned to play push away and he rolled around and loved it. In the country his tail was always up and curling over his back. The new home we had just moved to had two other happy people and his tail was up even inside now. His whole facial expression had changed over the years. It became soft and relaxed, it showed that he knew about love.
It was a long tough road that we both took. Through each other we both learned to love ourselves. We both had the same problem: overcoming a lousy beginning before we could allow our individual beauty to blossom. He was a special animal and we had a truly unique bond.... Unfortunately he died over Thanksgiving weekend. Lord was almost 7 1/2 years old when he died but I knew that I gave him the best years of his life and in return I learned for myself the lessons that I was teaching him. I miss you, best friend.
