Remembering TenMan and Blondie

Five years ago today we said goodbye to our first auction save, TenMan, and our first rescued mare, Blondie. I have no digital pictures of TenMan and only one digital picture of Blondie as that was back in the days when we didn't have a digital camera yet.

TenMan was a rescue from the Sioux Falls Regional Livestock Horse Sale. We rescued the little bay for $10. The only reason we got him was because the auctioneer, after running the price down asked "Would anyone take him for $10?" Of course I raised my hand. :-) I remember the experience. Having to go home, hook up the trailer, drive back to the auction, load an unknown horse into the trailer in the rain and dark, and drive home. Oh how I wish I would have done a few things different. I would have brought a blanket and filled the trailer full of hay so deep he would have had to eat his way out. All things I've learned over the past few years of rescuing horses from auctions. Poor TenMan was emaciated, covered in lice, and had something wrong with his manpart. We helped him cross over the Rainbow Bridge as the vet figured he was into his 30s.  I wish I would have had the opportunity to get to know him a little better before we said goodbye. It is one of my few regrets in life.

We picked up Blondie from the same owner that had King. King is not a Sanctuary horse but Blondie definitely was. She was a registered palomino Quarter Horse. Her body was riddled with scares. At one point she had been a loved and pampered mare. But in looking at her body, she must have gone through a terrible accident. She had a scare on her chest/neck where you could see that she'd been stitched up. She was blind in one eye and both hips had scars from having to lie down all the time. I can't remember exactly how old she was when we brought her in to the Sanctuary. Her age didn't match her body however. She was only 16 when we said goodbye. She had a whopping 12 teeth, with six on either side. Three on top, three on bottom on both sides. The teeth barely matched up but they worked enough for her to survive on grain, grass hay, and alfalfa mash until the vet got in and messed with her. She was my only Palomino. The place still doesn't seem the same without her. It feels like we are missing a color when I look out into the herd. She was also my first mare. I've only been around geldings so the mare experience was definitely new. Least to say, I'm crabby enough for the both of us. Rabbit reminds me of Blondie at times. But maybe it's just a mare thing.

You  may be gone, but you are not forgotten. Both TenMan and Blondie made a huge impression on me, as all of the horses that have gone before me have.