It was seven years ago that I met him…starving, desperate, and hours from being shipped to slaughter. He was standing nose-to-tail, tail-to-nose with 21 other stallions. They had been eating one another’s tails in that final, half-hearted attempt to stay alive. Finbar was one of the only stallions to still have a tail…and a spark. Initially that spark also had a vein of anger, which made training him…or placing him…difficult. In the end, his place was with me. He is mine…but more importantly, I am his. We have navigated behavioral problems, training challenges, soundness issues, and a few rounds of gastric ulcers. Seven years later he is exactly where he will spend the rest of his life…with me (and his donkey, Mr. Rogers, who completes our trio and permanently keeps his ulcers at bay). He still has a spark, but his anger has been replaced with joy and confidence in himself…and in his life. For me, Finbar represents the very essence of what rescue really represents. Rescue is only the beginning and it is just the starting place to forever. I have no expectations of Finbar…although he has expectations of me. He wants to be ridden and doted on, and he expects a treat (most especially a root beer barrel at bedtime). The only expectation that I have is one of myself: caring for him, providing him with an enriched life…and a loving partnership. Happy Birthday to my beautiful friend. In rescuing, I was rescued.