Nessa

Nessa used to be a trail horse at a rental stable. Like many rental horses she was totally fed up with inexperienced riders. She got to the point where she refused to move, just stood and shook her head as if to say "Enough, enough!"

The stable owner told Nina he was sending Nessa to the auction. He believed that she was a 16-year-old registered Quarter Horse and someone other than the killers might be interested in her. Nina had other ideas and convinced him to let her take the horse to Eye of the Storm temporarily.

Nina got her home and started noticing lots of things while grooming her. Grooming gets you up close and personal with a horse, and you can learn a lot about how a horse is feeling based on how she reacts to being touched all over her body. Nessa felt a lot of pain in her chest and saddle area. It was apparent that she had spend a lot of time wearing a saddle that was too tight for her. She also showed signs of having been a broodmare -- lots and lots of times. It is Nina's guess that Nessa had been used for calf-roping. A look at Nessa's teeth showed her true age: 24-26 years.

After several months the rental stable owner showed up unexpectedly at Eye of the Storm with his horse trailer. He wanted to take Nessa back, either to make her into a rental horse again or to sell her at auction for whatever price she would bring.

Nina informed him of the horses' true age and asked him to leave the her at Eye of the Storm. At auction she would only sell by the pound; no one would want her for riding. The stable owner would not let Nina have the horse, but finally agreed to let Nina buy her on an installment plan.

Now Nessa has a home for life. She's too old to be placed, but still enjoys the occasional trail ride (bareback). With her steady, dependable ways she has lead many horses through the brook that separates Eye of the Storm from the Stow town forest.

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