Joyful

 

Joy raspberries photog DeeAnn Bradley in August 2010
 

Joyful was a highly talented Grand Prix prospect, who was simply pushed too hard, too soon. Her prior owner of a couple of years, Kim Nelson, loved Joyful dearly, and when it became clear that Joyful would not stay sound, despite offers of the alleged “good home”, Kim looked for a retirement possibility for Joyful. Because she has had problems in the past which resulted in the removal of her ovaries, she is not a breeding prospect. The next best thing was The Golden Carrot. I don’t know if a year or two of rest may make a difference for this mischievous mare, but she will probably be a good prospect for flat classes with a little work. Joyful is the Kid out here – the nearest in age to her is Sara who is at least 14 years old. It is interesting to see how a mare who doesn’t go into the season seems to have trouble integrating into the herd. It’s taken her some time to be accepted, but now she is one of the dominant horses here. She has also developed a protective nature – taking care of Sara who is so crippled with laminitis, and also for the first six months being the guardian of frail ChaCha (see photo below)
 

 

Here is the Gorgeous Joyful in November of 2009, with my then-volunteer Sierra at the Tierra del Norte Arabian Horse Assn Community Horse show, doing TGC proud!