Tobi 






Leopard Appaloosa
1986 - October 12, 2011



 
In the summer of 1989, when I was 12 years old, I met a boy named Shawn.  I had an immediate crush on him and over the next few months we became very close.  Our Dads worked together at the local Sheriff's Department and were good friends so we got to see each other often.  He was a few years older than me and was a cowboy by trade and had a mare who had given birth to a Philly in 1986. Well, Christmas of 1989, I was pleasantly surprised to find that he was gifting to me this beautiful, speckled horse!

I fell in love immediately with her and named her Tobi.  We were inseparable, everywhere I went I rode Tobi!  Whether it was to school, the store, a friend's house, we went everywhere together.  She was my very best friend and I would rather have been with her than anyone else! 

She used to make me laugh so hard, if she saw someone on a bike or skateboard while we were riding she would chase after them like she was a dog.  She was an amazing animal!  In August of 1994, I gave birth to my first son, and Shawn was his Godfather. He was going to teach him to ride and rope and all that good stuff!  Tobi loved my son as well from the time I brought him home, she was so curious and wanted to know what I was toting around.

In October of 1994 we lost Shawn in a tragic accident, so I became even that much closer Tobi, I felt like Shawn was still with us living through her. I swear I could see him in her eyes!

In 1998 during a nighttime storm, Tobi got out of the fence and up onto the highway where she was hit by two cars.  I thought I was going to lose her and I almost lost my mind!  She recovered in a matter of months, but I was never able to ride her again, she just would get so stressed that her muscles would knot up. Over the next few years I had 3 more children and I could lead the kids around on her and she was fine.  She still loved her treats, and baths and grooming and her lovin'.  Every day I would go out there and love her, and brush her and she always greeted me eagerly at the fence with a neigh when she saw me coming.

It is now 2011 and she has stopped eating. I can't get her to gain any weight, her teeth are good, intestines are good, no health problems, she just refuses to eat and she is dropping weight fast!  I am so worried, I can't sleep at night!  I don't want to lose her!  On October 12 I went to the pasture and Tobi did not greet me at the gate. I became frantic and started searching for her. I found her laying in the back corner of the pasture unable to get up.  I called the vet and he rushed out, there was nothing he could do for her.  At 8:00 PM on October 12, 2011, I said goodbye to my best friend.  She lay quietly with her head in my lap and gave me one last weak neigh as she drifted off.  The heartache I have is so immense, and the emptiness I feel is unbelievable!

This is just a little story of our life as I am sure you can imagine with 22 years behind us. I could fill a book with our stories!

Good-Bye my Tobi Girl, I love you always! 
 
Shannon














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