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Reed's Fancy Lady
In July
2000, at age 14, Fancy Lady passed away suddenly and shockingly from acute, rapid onset
enteritis, reminding us how truly fragile these horses are and that we should never take
for granted the blessing of their presence in our lives.
Fancy was
born in 1986, at the Colorado farm of Everett Reed. Her sire, Reed’s Gallant Star,
was sired by Gallant King (Flyhawk x Jubilee King daughter). Gallant Star was out of
Cornwallis Pat, whose own outrageously beautiful head was inherited by Fancy. Fancy’s
dam was Yola, a double granddaughter of Cornwallis. We first saw Fancy in October 1988,
while visiting Mr. Reed to meet Gallant King. We were impressed with Gallant King and his
son Gallant Star as well as the mare Yola. Fancy was a well-matured 2-year-old and truly
named—she was indeed fancy.
She
came to live with us by late November of that year and was always an easy horse to get
along with. I can’t claim that I actually trained her. She just always did what I
wanted with very little explanation. She was light and sensitive, perhaps too sensitive as
two friends whom I let ride her just could not get in tune with her and it did not work
well at all. But she and I seemed to fit from the start and it remained that way. At one
point, when I had the opportunity to ride her often and regularly, she was working off a
neck rope for the most part with only the occasional |
reminder
from reins. She had a mouth conformation that made a snaffle bit uncomfortable for her but
did nicely with a mullen mouth but did much better riding with a Natural Horsemanship
style rope halter.
She also
demonstrated the importance of equine chiropractry, correct saddle fit and equine
dentistry. The first time I ever saddled her and carefully cinched her up, she fell down.
When it happened again, I asked around and was told she was holding her breath until she
fainted. I worked around that by giving her a treat to eat while cinching as she could not
hold her breath and chew at the same time. It was years later that I finally was able to
get a good vet/chiro up here to check her over. Various problems were found and the
necessary adjustments were made and Fancy was much happier, although I still fed treats
while cinching as it was now a habit and Fancy would shake her head up and down and let
her lower lip flap to remind me of the deal. One day she told me the saddle hurt her as we
headed down the driveway and she turned and bit at my leg. Fancy never, ever did anything
like that so I knew something was really wrong. I got off and checked and saw that the
saddle was too narrow and tight up front. A new saddle took care of that problem. The
dentistry was a bit longer in the developing and solving. After many years of good riding,
she developed a “glitch” in her rear end—never lame or anything to
see—but I could feel that something was wrong. At a horse health seminar I learned
about dentistry and how the last molars can cause hind end problems. Now I had to find a
good dentist, which finally happened. He got into her mouth and did not emerge for some
time as she indeed had some nasty problems back there. I did not have the chance to ride
her for a month and when I did the glitch was gone. And she was wonderfully smooth gaited
again, which also had been lost as she had become horribly rough gaited too. My Fancy Lady
was truly back.
I will
remember Fancy for the riding we did. I could ride alone or with others and she was
equally great. She was always eager and responsive. One hot June day I found a new trail
and took it. I got to a place where I could go back the way we came or find a way across a
creek bed and be home shortly. We cast up and down, back and forth and were stymied by
sheer vertical banks or impossible willow thickets. I could not find a way across the
creek bed complex. Fancy never got antsy or irritated with me. She just kept trying.
Finally I had to give up and go back the way we had come, and she eagerly galloped off
towards home. She never quit and was always there for me. She was my best and most steady
riding horse.
Fancy was
bred twice and had two very nice foals for us. SSM Mountain Jazz is with Jeannie Talarico
of Michigan. He has had some nice babies there and entertains Jeannie daily, bringing joy
to her life. SSM Mountain Song is now owned by Sharleen and Steve Shields here in Southern
California and is becoming quite the trail horse for Sharleen.
In late
1999, we were visiting Nancy Nard, Ragtime Morgans, Williams Arizona. She had a black
weanling filly that was my horse although none of us knew it for awhile. And Nancy needed
a good solid riding horse, as her favorite riding horse was pregnant. Also, Nancy
appreciates the old bloodlines and solid breeding and would breed Fancy. So a trade was
made—the filly came to me and Fancy went to Nancy. Fancy settled right in to her new
home and, well, the rest is Nancy's story now.
Fancy taught
me many things and I appreciated her gentle, easy-going presence in my life. It could be
said that her death was one of those awful, meaningless happenings, but it is meaningless
only if no lessons come from it and I did learn from her passing. We were staying in
Arizona for two weeks when I went to visit Nancy, only the day after Fancy’s death. I
stayed the day and we talked and cried throughout the day. But later that week, I
“saw” Fancy dancing over the mountains and plateaus of North Arizona.
Fancy—your spirit dances with me and I shall not forget.
Laura S
Algranti
Sunrise Song
Morgans
When I
entered into a trade with Laura Algranti for a pretty bay mare named Fancy- I was really
blind at first to the really special gift Laura had bestowed upon me.
I am just
getting back into riding after a many year hiatus due to bad knee problems- and I have to
do many things like mount from a block. Now, Fancy did not like to stand still- but we had
already bonded, she and I, and I had a half hour of making her understand STAND meant just
that while I clambered aboard in not too graceful a manner. But we cleared that first
hurdle and off we went.
To know
Fancy was to love her- she smiled in everything she did. She had the happiest outlook on
life of any horse I have ever met. Her attitude on the trail was "let's go"-
just a quick light step and a smile- a day with Fancy was a memory forever. Unfortunately
those moments were all too fleeting. It is impossible yet for me to believe she is not
there looking over that fence with those huge beautiful eyes- we tried valiantly to save
her- but the onset of her distress was sudden and lethal. Her gut had completely shut
down. The vet sad he had only had 3 cases in his life like hers- all fatal - but we had to
try. We finally cried over her and said our goodbyes- releasing her from her final
suffering and asking how and why. Ours never to know. But she left memories never to be
forgotten- and, like Laura- I believe she will be waiting over some heavenly gate.
Nancy Nard,
Ragtime Morgans
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