We had two horses in Hawaii, Hoshi and Mango. We didn’t keep them for long, for we decided to move back to the mainland, and it was good that we moved them off our land quickly. The lava base on our property, with its pumice stone was murder on horse’s feet. (We didn’t know that when I moved to Hawaii.)
The green grass was too rich as well and can give horses laminitis. Thus, both horses developed sore feet. In a sense, we rescued them, for they went to good homes away from that part of the island.
We purchased them from a riding stable. Hoshi, the bay, had a chiropractic problem and allergies, so they didn’t want to use him for customers as the trip down the mountain to the sea and back again was too much for him. He was my daughter’s horse, and she figured she wouldn’t be taking long rides, and we were on flat ground. Mango, the paint, was a one-person horse who didn’t like many people riding him. I figured he would be my personal horse, and got so he whinnied a greeting to me. It was good that we got him out of the stable, and into a good home, for Cowboys are anxious to purchase horses to use for roping on cattle farms. And, so I heard, they use them up.
I wouldn’t sell him to a roper, but instead found a woman that had lost her paint horse about a year earlier. When she left with Mango she had tears in her eyes. Hoshi went to a young girl who put him on a farm where his feet could heal. And even though the neighbor told her Hoshi bucked with my daughter, she bought him anyway. Yes, he bucked, more weight on his back meant more pressure on his feet. Ow.
Both left the same day, as the girl shared her trailer. I was glad. That way one wasn’t left to grieve for the other.