Hi, my name is Alli and I'm going to spend time talking about my horse, Zee. Her full name is Ziphur Danielle Johnston. Her first name originated from my best friend's favorite horse (though it wasn't hers) and my favorite horse (which also wasn't mine). Carly rode a horse at the barn she rides at named Zip. She fell in love with him and he obviously loved her back. Carly rode Zip as much as possible and frequently posted YouTube videos of her riding him. One day, Zip got sold. Carly was tore up about it, and I had a similar experience. My friend, Shey, invited me over. I went to her house, aware of the huge barn full of horses. We took a tour of the barn and met all the horses and learned their names. In the back of the barn, there was an area for rescued horses. About four horses and a foal. One mare had a pus-filled welp between her eyes from where she had been beaten by her previous owner. But one mare stood out to me the most. An unnamed palomino with a blaze. She was the meanest of them all - to everyone but me. She bit and kicked and was rude to everyone. But when I walked up to her stall and clucked, she took cautious steps toward me and rested her muzzle in the palm of my hand. In that moment, I knew she was my horse, whether a legal document said so or not. This bitter-sweet mare was fond of me, and that was enough for me to fall head over heels for her. That was in June. The next time I saw her was in February. She had went from ribby to chubby, ugly to beautiful, wimpy to strong. She had been transformed into a show horse. I had given her the name Madhur the day I met her. They had changed it to Kitty and gave her a stall with the other show horses. I knew all chances of me getting Madhur was lost. To this day, I still say that she's my Madhur, even though she never was or will be.
My horse aquired her name when Carly and I blended Zip and Madhur together to get Ziphur. I gave her the middle name Danielle. Now I'm going to launch into the story of how I got my first horse.
My mom had recently married a guy named Steve. He knew nothing about farm animals, considering he moved here from Michigan. He owned a horse (Zee) and a billy goat, formally known as Goaty. I had expressed concern for my horse when I realized she was living on nothing but grass. It wouldn't have been a big deal, but she was two. A developing horse getting no nutrients. Yes, wild horses lived off grass. But they didn't live nearly as long as domestic horses. This horse meant a lot to me, and there was a high chance she could actually be mine. She was scronny as heck and sweeter than sugar. I loved her to death. I had only seen pictures before Mom and him started dating. When they got serious, I met her for the first time. I will never forget it. I groomed her and played with her for hours on end, not worrying about mosquitos or ticks. I saw so much potential in that horse. She had already been ridden by many people since she was little. That angered me, but I could tell she could still make a great horse.
Later, my dad found land across the street from his house. We borrowed a trailer from an old family friend and picked her up at Steve's. We brought her home and kept her in the backyard for a few days until the field across the street was fenced in. I would go out there at night when she laid on the ground, half asleep, and sit beside her. She would rest her muzzle on my thigh (I would sit on my knees) and fall asleep (I could tell she was falling asleep because I felt extreme pressure from her teeth as she rested all of the weight in her head on my knee). She is currently across the street from my dad's house and living a happy, healthy life. She is currently being trained by me with help from another horse friend and my trainer at the barn I ride at. Zee is (hopefully) going to be transformed into a barrel horse, winning tons of ribbons for her Mommy.
