This is Abby, or my Nanny Pony as I sometimes call her. She wasn't technically mine at any point, but in my heart she was and always will be mine. You can't see the halo in this picture, but no doubt about it, Abby was a saint.
She was the sweetest, sanest, most dependable pony there ever was. My dad tells me that she was so safe, that when he was teaching, he would help me tack her up and then throw me up on her in the indoor arena. He told me he would close all the doors and gates and then go teach a student in the outdoor arena, periodically checking on me to make sure I was ok. There was never, not once, a mishap.
I would give Abby a little thump with my tiny heels every once in a while, and she would oblige me with a couple of steps of jog, before slowing to her sedate and steady walk. I remember riding in the indoor telling Abby stories where she and I were on wild adventures together or I'd sing to her the little nonsensical songs I came up with in my precocious childhood.
Abby was my very first best friend and I could not have asked for a better one. She listened to me for hours on end (no mean feat) and gave me a sense of independence. Those few years of having Abby as my nanny were truly awesome. However, eventually my parents told me that Abby's owners had taken her back.
It wasn't until two years ago that my naivete vanished a little and I figure out what had really happened. Although, I suppose depending on your religious views, that's exactly what happened. It certainly does comfort me to think that Abby, Jack and now Eddie, the horses who took such great care of me in life, are still keeping an eye on me from a better place.
I hope that every little girl who dreams of horses gets to have an Abby in her life. While they are a bit more expensive, ponies like her truly make great babysitters!
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