Tassie's Legacy

[lindad]

Today we buried our beloved Tassie, who was about 40 years old. We found Tassie in 1980, for my daughter, Lisa, who was then 9 years old. Lisa started riding at age 2 and had a pony of her own since age 3. Tassie was "just" a little grade bay mare, of quite average appearance, and perhaps a little course. But Tassie was a perfect fit with my spunky little girl, and together what a team they made. Tassie came to us with some good training, and the desire to perform was evident from the start. She was a horse with heart and character. There was nothing that Lisa and Tassie would not do for one another. There was no place Tassie would not go if Lisa asked. Through the countless hours and miles together, they forged a bond, a partnership and had countless adventures, many of which would make a mom shudder. Together they blossomed, together they shined.

Together, they were consistently in the blue ribbons and always in the top 3. They placed over papered horses with "breeding" routinely. At one show they took Fitting and Showing, Western Horsemanship, Western Pleasure. That afternoon they did a Dressage class just for practice. They had not been able to get dressage lessons, and Lisa never had ridden a pattern, but we forgot to cancel the class. They placed 6th in a class of about 40. Many of the kids were exclusively English riders and dressage students. Tassie and Lisa followed that up with a 2nd in the Speed in Action classes against a number of kids that did only speed classes. Tassie was a winner despite her humble breeding.

Tassie raised my daughter as much as I did, and probably better than I did. The lessons Lisa learned as an adult from Tassie have been just as remarkable. Tassie helped Lisa to learn loyalty, perseverance, endurance, leadership, horsemanship, animal husbandry, parenting, mentoring, consistency, work ethic, devotion, nutrition, intuition, and to do your best in spite of your circumstances. Lisa lost her best friend of thirty years, but what she gained through her life with her beloved horse will last an eternity. I can only thank God, for the great gift, the great privilege, and the great love he gave to my daughter and to me through our precious Tassie.

"Grandma Tassie at about 32 or 33 years old with kids meeting a horse for the first time.

[DianneC]

What a dream come true life for both Lisa and Tassie! You couldn't ask for a more wonderful way to grow up. And I know Tassie loved every moment of it. May all horses have such a home.

[Michelle Clarke]

Thanks for sharing and how great you kept a member of the family until her last day. It breaks my heart when I see older horses up for sale that have taught someones kids and grandkids to ride...then they put them up for sale for a couple hundred dollars.

I am sure it was hard but what great memories you obviously have with her.

[lindad]

Tassie made Lisa's childhood a joy. When people would ask why Lisa spent so much time and money keeping that old horse going, and believe me it was considerable, Lisa would say that Tassie had been her best friend and caretaker for her whole life and she owed her. It was definitely a labor of love. Lisa spent many hours a day special feeding Tassie with mixes and mashes, suppliments. The old girl had lost all but her insisor teeth. Lisa would grate her apples, steam or grate her carrots. Lisa missed many events because of Tassie's feeding schedule, as not to throw her system out of wack. Lisa has developed her powers of observation and is very in tune with her animals. Even as a child if something was wrong, she was often the first to know.
Yesterday, I went to be with Lisa and listened to her stories for about 5 hours and again went through the scrapbook albums I made for her of Tassie and her other horses. She said something that I found very interesting. She said since she can't really ride (anything like she used to prior to being crushed by a drunk driver; she just rides in the round pen or a brief jaunt in her neighborhood) that she has learned so much that she overlooked while being on their backs. She is now truely one of the herd, with much greater ability to understand the nuances of their communication, and how the herd operates. Believe me she had always been in tune with that. She said if she were more distracted by riding and going places she would still be missing out on so much that is so rich and precious to her. She said that is a blessing that she has because of her injuries. This is what keeps her going, despite her own ordeals.
This may illustrate Lisa's devotion to Tassie. Lisa sustained numerous catastophic crushing injuries almost 8 years ago and had to be on a narcotic patch. The side effects of the patch become as bad as the pain, so she determined to get off of it despite the warnings of her doctors that she would not likely function without it. She insisted, so they wanted to hospitalize her for a medical detox as narcotic withdrawal is an excruciating experience otherwise. Lisa said she couldn't do that because her old horse would die if she wasn't there to feed and watch over her. I am pretty sure she would have been right. She slowly weaned herself off and is free of narcotic medication, which she now knows had become ineffective anyhow. It was awful, but she did it and kept that old horse going too. The power of Love.

[pepper]

Reading that brought a tear to my eyes.Just knowing your family cared for Tassie all those years & now learning Lisa went through such an ordeal.You have a very special family.
I do agree that we change our relationship to horses when we climb on their backs and begin directing their movements and unfortunately,often it's not for the better.
Have you ever seen a book by Linda Kohanov called The Tao of Equus?Interesting perspectives......

[fantasykiger]

I am sorry for your family's loss. My daughter had a Tassie as well, her name was Tia'. You wish you could turn the clock back for a great ones, no matter thier humble beginings.
The power of the horse and girl relationship is truely amazing.

[rubymountainkigers]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Tassie sounds like a great horse and I'm sure she will be missed dearly. Sounds like she was a great teacher for your daughter. It also sounds like your daughter has come a very long ways on her journey to becoming a horseman. That is something we should all aspire to.

[lindad]

Thank you all for your kind thoughts. Tassie's passing has given me time to reflect on what horses have meant to us. So many, many times I have been so devastated by the death of a loved one. This time it is the natural order of things and I am more sad for Lisa, than about loosing Tassie. This is huge for Lisa. I am caught up this time in rejoicing in what we had for all of those years, not the loss. She was with us longer than anyone could have asked for. My grieving is more about reflecting on the joy and sharing my thoughts as a tribute to a great little horse who enriched our lives and the deep bond she shared with my daughter. This is a happy story not a sad one. I know that the people who frequent this board understand these things. Tassie will be dearly missed, but all we have to do is visit our ample store of treasured memories.

[lindad]

Pepper, I have had Tao of Equus in my book pile next to my recliner, but haven't got around to reading it. Maybe it is time. I'll take this as a message that there is something I'm supposed to read at this time. I just got it from the pile so I will start reading it. Thanks

[kimk]

Linda,
My heart goes out to Lisa. What wonderful partners she and Tassie were! Cherish those memories! Nothing can take those away!

[rubymountainkigers]

If you liked "Tao of Equus" you should read her second book "Riding Between the Worlds". I thought it was even better.

[stlkigers]

Sorry to hear about your beloved Tassie's passing....sounds like she had THE best home....Our condolences to you and Lisa....

Angela