Doc, Marty, Ginger and Buddy waiting for housekeeping to get done with their stalls.

We've had horses for about 14 years now.  It all started when Brenda was in a "Celebrity Cutting Competition", she got me out to try it and I was hooked.

Our first horse was a Mare (Female) named Ginger. Ginger is still with us and is the diva of the barn. We had Ginger for about 6 months when we decided to get one more horse, so the search was on.  I wanted a gelding that had some size on him.  We spent months looking until one day I saw a sign that read "Horses for Sale."  That's when I found Doc.

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Doc and Buddy with their humans.

Doc is the grandson of one of the greatest horses ever Doc O' Lena.  They are built quite the same except my Doc is taller.

We got Doc to the ranch we would board him at for the next few years.  We got him a nice covered paddock and were all set to do all his care every day, just like we had done for Ginger. The next day we arrived to clean his stall.  When I opened the gate to take him out, he pinned himself to the back panel, shaking.

Come to find out, he had been abused the first 5 years of his life.  Because of the abuse he also was deathly afraid of white, especially white shirts.  We spent the next few weeks taking him out each day, loving him, brushing him and letting him know his life would never be that way again.

At first Doc was Brenda's horse, but a bond was starting between him and me.  The connection got to the point where if Brenda was riding him and I would even come close to the arena gate, the ride was over.  He would come to the gate stand and look over his shoulder at her, saying "ride's over, get off.)  It's still that way today, Doc gives her what we call a courtesy ride.

It took awhile for Doc and I to get on the same page because he loved to run.  He has an incredible spirit and will give you more than you ask.  The hardest part was letting him know he could walk. Through many hours of walking and overcoming mostly my stubbornness, we've become not just horse and owner, but friends.

God gave us dominion  over the animals. To some that means to rule and dominate, I don't think that's right.  If God is a loving God as we are taught, dominion also means to care for and nurture.  For Doc and all our fur kids, my responsibility to take care of them the rest of their lives.

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