The Story of Jackson

In 2013 I was horse shopping (aren’t horse people always horse shopping though?). But seriously. I was horse shopping, looking for my “heart horse”, a partner I could spend my future horse years with.

I was also still battling a huge fear of horses from an accident my Mama had and, looking back, I’m not sure why I thought adopting a wild mustang was the answer but… that’s what I did.

Anyway.

To be honest, I was first attracted to the BLM mustangs because of the price tag and availability: $125 and any build, color, height imaginable. Seemed like a no brainer. However, the closest pens to me at the time were a long ways away and I didn’t have the time off or the means to make the trip. So I spent my time looking on their website, dreaming about tag number 1691 (a gorgeous black gelding).

Fast forward a few months and I see a flier on Facebook of all places advertising the Burns, Oregon facility would be bringing 10 mares and 10 geldings to the Washington State Horse Park for an adoption event. At the time, the Washington State Horse Park was a whopping 20 minutes from my house. I was going to adopt a mustang!

The event was first come, first serve so when I got off work Friday I drove straight there to see the mustangs. My eye was immediately caught by a big, black gelding and as I got closer I could clearly see his tag number: 1691. He was the horse I had been internet stalking and dreaming about for months.

Friday evening was just for viewing, with the main adoption event beginning at 8:00 Saturday morning, so I went home for the night and didn’t sleep a wink. The next morning I arrived at the horse park before 8:00, completed adoption application in hand, sweating bullets as I handed it over for consideration silently praying they would let me take “my” horse home and no one else had spoken for him already.

And just like that, I had me a mustang.

They loaded him up, I took him home, and unloaded him straight into my round pen where he stayed for weeks as I struggled through my insecurities of “what the heck have I done?! I have no idea what I’m doing.”

And also, what is this horse’s name?

One day I walked out to spend time with him and randomly started singing, “we got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout, we’ve been talkin’ bout Jackson, ever since the fire went out.” So, yeah. He’s Jackson.

I began regaining my confidence with Jackson. I attended my first clinic with him, I took him to the beach, I took him to adult horse camp, I spent all of my spare time with him.

Jackson and I had a year and a half together. I fell in love with him, he taught me so much about resilience and forgiveness and perseverance.  And heartbreak.

In the Fall of 2014 I took Jackson to the vet for a lameness exam. He was moving “funny” and something just seemed “off” about him. I left the vet’s office with Jackson, my mustang with a neurological disease. I was heartbroken.

My vet explained to me that he was absolutely certain Jackson had a neurological disease, although it was a $3,000 test to find out specifically which disease. He said Jackson has no feeling in his hind end, he doesn’t know where his feet are and this explains his lack of coordination and his struggle to have his front feet trimmed (he has to balance on his back feet for this).

The vet said it was his professional opinion that it was not safe to continue riding Jackson.

That was nearly four years ago, and Jackson is alive and well. He’s my favorite pasture pet, and will continue to be unless or until he is in obvious pain or I can no longer afford him.

I’ll always be grateful for the time I have with Jackson and all that he taught me while he could. I’m also grateful I have gotten to keep him in my life all of these years. I won’t tell you his unflattering nickname (unless you ask), but I love him dearly despite his flaws.

“Those who teach the most about humanity aren’t always humans.”
-Donald H. Hicks