Everything Equine: If you’ve ever loved a horse

If you ever loved a horse...

A Tribute to Sundance ‘Sunny’

As a horse rider who grew up in England, I had never seen a Western saddle, or for that matter a Tennessee Walker. In 1992, as I drove out to the boarding farm where the horse I was looking at as a potential trail horse for me, I wondered if I would like him. There were six horses in the barn that evening, and it was getting dark. They all looked over their stable doors. As I locked eyes with one particular horse, I hoped it was him. It was back before photos of potential purchases could be sent instantly to you, so up to this point, the horse was sight unseen.

After a short greeting, he was bridled and I rode him out in a field. It was getting dark, and until that moment I didn’t even know what a gaited horse felt like. He was so comfortable, even bareback. I was quite impressed. The woman who owned the boarding stables looked quite concerned as I zipped over logs, loving every moment. The next day, I returned to complete the purchase and take Sundance “Sunny” home with me.

Over the course of the next almost 30 years, I rode Sunny all over the place. We trail rode thousands of miles, going on eighthour adventure rides together and camping trips in the wild and anywhere we could go, often with my daughter sitting behind or in front, laughing and loving the thrill of the fast pace Sunny always had.

In 2000, I moved to Ocala, “the Horse Capital of the World,” and there we rode more and more. We found new adventures on the beautiful Greenway trails and final-

BY LOUISA BARTON

ly, a few years ago, we accomplished my top bucket list item: We rode on the beach in St. Augustine. Sunny, by that time, was a senior horse, and the cold salty water in the cooler months felt quite therapeutic to him. Every year, around Christmastime, my friend Isabell would pick us up in her trailer and we would go and take our Christmas photos on the beach with our horses. Those moments and times are treasured in my heart forever.

When he was much younger, Sunny competed in a couple of shows with me, although he was not purchased to be a show horse. I will never forget the day he won the trail course class out of 75 or more horses, who competed on and off all day. I was so proud.

When we rode the trails, Sunny always got a sweaty face and it made him so itchy. In fact, when I first purchased him, he was so itchy that he tried rubbing his face hair and his mane and forelock off. We got that under control, but part of the deal was when I dismounted after a ride, he knew he could rub his face on my back. Trainers and “experts” never really approved of such behavior, but a face rub and a cookie were just part of a lovely trail ride for Sunny and me.

On June 2, 2021, when I returned home from work, Sunny was clearly not well. After several visits from our veterinarian, the worst of my fears came to reality and Sunny, who was in great pain, had to be euthanized.

I had broken my neck earlier this year in a severe car accident and had no idea that the ride we took a few days before that accident would be my last ride on Sunny, at least this side of heaven anyway. I had always hoped and prayed Sunny would outlive me, as impossible as that seems. If you have ever heard anyone refer to a horse as their “heart horse,” then this is what they meant. A heart horse is one that you bond with like no other. If you ever loved a horse, you know that this is a horse who you fall completely in love with at first sight and a horse you feel you cannot live without.

I have now survived an experience I thought I could not ever face. On his last beach ride in January of this year, we rode miles and Sunny was still in the lead, loving every minute of it, with the sun on his back and the wind in his face. Sunny was always in the lead. Most rides we went on, I felt like I was riding alone, way out in front. I always said if Sunny had been a Thoroughbred, he would have won the Triple Crown.

I have owned many horses in my life, and they were all wonderful in their own way. But Sunny was the horse of a lifetime for me. When I rode him, we were one. No horse can ever replace Sunny, although I do care deeply for my other horses.

I am thankful to Ocala Magazine for allowing me to share this with all of you, because having posted Sunny’s passing on social media, I realized how many people have experienced this same pain. So many have empathized and shared their broken hearts with me since then. There are no words, except to tell you not to second guess yourself or question why or even think you failed. Enjoy the memories and the wonderful life you gave to your horse. If you are blessed and have a horse for long enough to love that animal — or, like me, for almost 30 years — be grateful for the time, even if brief and for the love you shared. I know that Sunny is free of all pain, and I am sure he has taken the lead again with the sun on his back and the wind in his face. Until we ride again.

If you ever loved a horse, you know that this is a horse who you fall completely in love with at first sight and a horse you feel you cannot live without.

Louisa Barton is equine initiative director for the Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership, a farm Realtor and host of the Horse Talk Show on Sky 97.3.