Hobo's Legacy
I first saw Once a Hobo at Van Bert Farms. She was sweet and I immediately liked her. Of course, Larry Patterson was always looking for a horse to sell me and we were soon talking terms and price. She was certified and bred to Sudden Impact. Sudden Impact was a grand champion park horse and a really beautiful stallion.
I soon learned that Hobo was a well bred little mare. She was a daughter of Shepherd's Snowy River. He is many times a grand champion stallion so the breeding was a great choice. True to form when you breed a horse with good genetics to a horse with good genetics and match them for conformation you should produce a good horse. This breeding was no exception.
I named their foal, WOF Saga of Snowy River. He went to the show ring in his weanling year and won his very first show. He was a beautiful chocolate colt that promised to be as good or better than his parents.
Her second foal was again a chocolate colt. This time a son of my stallion, SC Code of Honor. This colt exceeded all of my expectations for him. I loved his beautiful good looks and he was true to his good breeding. He was well gaited and he is now making his home in Michigan. His owner had a long list of requirements for her horse. And Chief fit them as nearly perfectly as any horse could. I named him WOF Chief's Code in honor of my son who is in the Navy and had made Sr Chief.
Her next foal was a black filly. Once again sired by Code of Honor. We don't know for sure what she is going to be when we start riding her but true to her breeding she is a beautiful filly. I named her WOF Alyssa's Grace after my then youngest great granddaughter.
Next came WOF Honor's Legacy. Again, a Code of Honor colt. He is beautiful too and looks just like Hobo through his face and head. He is a two year old now but once again true to his breeding, he is really beautiful and I expect all of Hobo's off spring to gait well and stay true to their breeding.
This year Hobo had a filly that is a chocolate roan. This little filly was growing really fast due to all the milk that Hobo was giving. Her sire is Silver Design owned by Justin Blevins.
Then disaster struck.
We never know what challenges we will face that day when we get out of bed. What started off as a nice day soon turned ugly for us. It was apparent that Hobo was in some sort of trouble. Bob noticed after they ate lunch that Hobo was laying down a lot. He went into the field and she came right up to him.
We have noticed time and time again that horses will walk right up to us when they need help. The first time I noticed it was when I was boarding some horses. One kept losing her fly mask and when we finally caught her I secured it a little tighter than I had before.
This mare was one of the hardest horses we have ever had on the farm to caught but that day she walked right up to me. Right away I noticed that the fly mask had cut into her nose and was making a nasty place and the flies were drawn to it. It must have been miserable. She needed help and she came to me for it. I loosened the mask and as I ripped the Velcro she stepped away from me. The noise had startled her but she let me walk back up to her to loosen the other strip. We treated it and soon it was healed but I had learned several lessons that day.
Now Hobo was in trouble. She knew it and soon Bob knew it too. She was in pain and we couldn't determine why. She was eating grass like she was really hungry but we could tell she was hurting. We soon had Melissa Thompson on the phone describing symptoms and had her promise that as soon as Dr Thompson was free, he would be on his way.
It was after 8 pm that night before Dr Thompson drove into the farm. He could tell she was in terrible pain but nothing he gave her made much difference. Her baby was happy to be out in a new place and she ran and played and only occasionally came back to Hobo for a quick snack. She was a very happy little month old filly.
Then the diagnosis came and it was terrible. The membranes surrounding the small intestine had torn and a section had worked it's way out and was twisted. With the diagnosis came the hard decision to put her down. I couldn't watch as the shot was adminstered to end her life. Like the coward I am, I made my way to the house. I busied myself finding the nipples and a bottle to start feeding the little orphan filly.
Bob had already led Hobo into an enclosed stall and trapped the filly there so she couldn't hurt herself. And then Doc and Bob walked Hobo away. As they were leading her away from the barn, she was calling frantically for her baby and her baby answered her every call. It was heart rending. A scene that plays over and over in my mind. This mare loved her baby more than life itself. And the baby loved her mother.
I have often thought how much we can learn from horses. Especially a mare and her foal. I do not think that animals have a soul. But I can't help but believe that animals will be in heaven. Horses are mentioned in the Bible in Revelations. I do know for sure that animals have emotions. They experience pain as we well know. But they also experience love.
I have watched Bob and Satin together. Satin loves Bob and she even displays jealousy. I have seen her act jealous when Bob rides another horse. If people would watch a mare and her foal they would learn a lot.
There are many lessons one can learn.
Many women are getting abortions because of the inconvenience a child would be for them. They are allowing their babies to be killed for their selfish reasons. But most mares would die protecting their babies.
Another lesson one can learn is discipline. When a foal gets out of line the mare quickly disciplines with a kick or a bite. Sometimes all she does is pen her ears back. I am not suggesting anyone bite or kick their children but as I look around places I shop, I do think that a good paddling would do some children a lot of good. I know it's not acceptable to spank children these days. We don't want to hurt their little egos. Not every child needs spanking but some need their little back sides paddled and let those egos take care of themselves.
I mare keeps her foal close to her side. At least for the first several weeks. She keeps a very watchful eye on that foal even though she may just look busy grazing. She will call them back to her if they get too far away. I see parents that let their children run loose in the store and have no idea where that child is despite the fact that children are stolen every day and abused and often killed. What are they thinking?
After Hobo died we tried to get another mare to take Legacy but it didn't work so we bottle fed her until time to wean her. Dr Thompson told us she would survive but she would not thrive. She not only survived but she also thrived. He admitted that this time this filly thrived even without a mother. I like to think she had many mothers. We all loved to take our turns feeding her.
She has had her share of attention. We loved on her and played with her but she was also turned out with other mares and their foals. We correct her when she needs it. She was a big hit when we had my granddaughter's wedding reception in the barn in late September just before she and her herd mates were weaned.. They are all thriving despite the bad weather.
I see God working in our lives every day and in many ways. God teaches us through the ordinary of every day life. If a mare and foal can love each other so deeply can't we believe God loves us even more. I can believe because I know that Jesus, God only begotten son died to pay for my sins.
For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
God bless and happy trails.
Mary Lipginski
