No such thing as “perfect”? Oh yes, there is! It’s the “match made in heaven” between Timmy the Arabian gelding and his new owner Susanna. At the risk of sounding corny, the two “complete” each other!
Timmy’s life at the Ranch started after Kristine, a fellow rescuer and friend of Susan Peirce, responded to an ad on Craigslist where he was being bartered for $200 worth of hay (now we’ve seen everything!). Noticing how painfully underweight and malnourished the gelding was when Kristine made the rescue, it was obvious that his keepers had been running low on feed for some time and when it came time to decide which of their horses would have to stop eating all together, Timmy apparently drew the short straw. Kristine began nursing him back to health and turned to Red Bucket for help in finding him his new “forever” home.
Susanna met Timmy at “The Ranch the Horses Own” where she’s been a dedicated and invaluable volunteer for 3 1/2 years, helping with everything from grooming and turnouts to conducting Ranch tours on Sunday afternoons. Timmy, who by now is in his mid to late teens, was certainly looking for THE ONE. Timmy was gorgeous with his elegant frame, dark bay coloring and beautiful white markings. And yes, Susanna always had a soft spot for Arabians. With his quiet, sweet personality, she figured that Timmy probably would indeed be a good match for her. While Susanna couldn’t comprehend being lucky enough to have a horse of her own, she started sponsoring Timmy. She spent extra time with him and helped offset many of the expenses associated with his care. After nine months, Susanna officially adopted Timmy in September 2015.
Today Susanna makes sure she splits her time with Timmy evenly between grooming, exercise and turnouts. Exercise could be a short ride, a long hand walk or a longe in the round pen. It’s also important to her to give him a chance to just be a horse and do what horses love to do, like a nice roll in the sand followed by a stroll over to the slow feeder. She says, “My goal is to get him on the trail and just go out for a nice hack. It would be good for him and good for me.”
It is obvious to all at Red Bucket how much time and effort Susanna puts into constantly improving Timmy’s life as well as making sure that he knows he’s worthy of such devotion. He has a fancy new purple hay net for his stall and is sporting a brand-new soft blanket to keep him warm during cold nights. Susanna’s friend, Karen Tilley, points out that you will not find a more meticulously groomed horse anywhere, right down to his closely shaved whiskers! Timmy absolutely gleams, without a flake of dust on his silky dark coat or a speck of mud on his four perfectly even white socks. Another friend, volunteer and fellow adopter Susan Vanden Bos, gushes, “The two of them are a lovely pair. Susanna is such a great horse mom and when you look at Timmy you can see how much he adores her. His eyes are bright and always alert when she is around.”
Absolutely everyone who has the pleasure of knowing Timmy and Susanna enjoys seeing their relationship grow stronger and deeper the more time they spend together and wishes them nothing but the pure joy of their companionship for many years to come. Susan Peirce considers herself beyond lucky to be part of such a special love connection. She says: “Knowing that we’re involved in the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing is in itself unbelievably fulfilling. But seeing on a daily basis how much these two amazing and deserving individuals enrich each other’s lives is the best thing in the world!”