Gypsy Vanner Horse Owners Testimonials
A Sense of Horses
by
Anne Salter
...Since then 'tis centuries; but each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.
— Emily Dickinson
The ancient Celtics believed that just before death, a white horse appeared to take the soul to heaven. I believe that in life, a black and white horse has appeared to enrich my earthbound journey.
It all started the day a friend at the barn handed me a catalog and said, "I think you might be interested in one of these trips." In that second, my hand reaching out to take her offering, I had no idea that my life would change in so many wonderful ways.
The catalog was filled with trips from Cross Country International, a firm that specializes in equestrian vacations. My friend knew I had dreamed of going to Scotland. I zeroed in on the Scottish trail rides and debated between the "Rob Roy" and the "Argyll" Trail. I made a quick phone call and asked the representative which ride would be best for a first-timer to Scotland, and she suggested the Argyll trail. Next, I sent an email to my friend in a nearby town asking her to go with me. I was elated when she shot back a quick reply: "I'll go!"
On that journey, which proved to be the trip of a lifetime for both of us, we encountered for the first time the Gypsy Vanner Horse (sometimes called Gypsy tinker or Gypsy cob). Sturdy, sure-footed, even-tempered, and courageous, these horses carried us daily across the most amazing, gorgeous, and challenging country. We struggled up hillsides with no problem. We descended rocky, narrow, muddy paths that goats might bypass with the greatest of ease. We dropped down the sides of rocky cliffs, forded streams, raced on the beaches, swam in the ocean, and experienced some of the greatest gallops imaginable, in a landscape that probably looked the same when the ancient Celts dwelt here.
Back at home, I dreamed of having my own horse like the one in Scotland. My friend did too! "What is it about these horses?" we would ask each other. "Are they magic?" My friend soon acquired a stallion, a gorgeous black and white with a sweet eye and lovely temperament. I had my heart set on the dark horses, the nearly-all-black ones with white socks and white faces. Surfing the Web, I found a few sites of interest, but then one day I saw her.
There she was on the Blarney Stone Acres Web page. My heart leaped. She had the look in her eye that I always sought — a certain spark that told me that's the one for me. I got on the phone and called Lise McNamara, the owner of the farm. She talked the talk. She was a real horse person. I knew I had found the right person and the right horse. Lise made it all possible for me, and soon my new horse was on her way to Georgia. Since that time, another friend from childhood has fallen in love with these horses and is the proud owner of another McNamara mare. Three friends have been reunited again because of these horses. Magic? You bet.
How has owning a Gypsy horse changed my life? Since that ride in Scotland, I have been transformed. I feel like I have found my homeland. I discovered the most amazing horses in the world, and I have reunited ties with friends through a common love of these animals. I have a new friend in my life — Lise — and I am learning about the breed and researching the Gypsy people, the proud people who over the decades have bred so many wonderful qualities into these horses. My life has opened up before me in so many new ways. I am returning to Scotland for the third time with more friends, hoping they too will encounter the magic — the horses, the land, and the people.
But it is more than that. The relationship with my new Gypsy horse is special. It is truly a bond that is beyond that of human to animal. Her beauty, her intelligence, her enjoyment of her life — they all culminate to make my day special. She is part of the creation that I love, she is the outdoors for me, the link between me and nature that my soul desperately seeks. Her trust is unconditional. She sees in me something that no other creature recognizes. I don't know what that is, I just know that it is special.
This Gypsy horse's personality and beauty draw people to her. She shines like a little star. Together we will walk this earth and have adventures that will lead us both to appreciate our lives more fully. Magnolia keeps me alert to the future. She removes those shadows in me that hold on to the past — old loves, lost ways of life, the departed. As long as I have her to think about I am moving forward in time, not dwelling in the past or living inside my mind. With her at my side, I plan to continue fulfilling a lifelong dream of having my own small farm.
The Celtics have always held a fascination for me. Their spirituality grounded in the creation of all things, their respect for the land, and their bonds to nature have always attracted me. I dared one day to take a journey, and it in turn led me to the most amazing experience of my life. At a bit over a half a century old, I feel again like I am fourteen and have the world in front of me. And it all began with the outstretched hand of a friend.
When I die, I want the white horse to come for me too — the black and white horse that is!