My husband's curse, brought the gift of Curls into my life!

I met my husband (Tom) when I was 22 years old. We married just 6 months later. One thing I did not know about my husband is that he was deathly allergic to horses. We had talked about my love for them, but he never mentioned it....partly because he really didn't know just how severe those allergies were.

As a married couple, we lived within a few miles of some boarding stables and I remember just wanting to be close to a horse, any horse. I approached the barn managers and asked if I could work for FREE, cleaning stalls...just anything to be around them. Due to a lack of experience, they didn't want to risk the liability. I was heart broke.

Tom and I weren't married long, but it was evident that my love for horses was as strong as ever. He is such a great man, he really wanted to fulfill my dream. So we checked out the local classifieds and started shopping. I was absolutely giddy!!! The first horse I saw, I wanted. A TWH, Gorgeous, 16h and Chestnut. His name was Teggart. During this visit, I don't recall Tom reacting much - I think I was totally numb to everything going on. I had Teggart shipped to one of the local boarding stables. Life was Grand....almost......Tom's allergies grew worse. He had made my life so wonderful, and yet I had made his life miserable! Everytime I came home from the barn, he would have an attack and was a complete mess. Running eyes, wheezing, hives..the whole deal. I knew in my heart, I couldn't be happy if my husband was so sick. I decided to sell Teggart one year later.

I had to make a decision. And that was to be happy without horses in my life. I had so much to be thankful for and I focused on those things. But I did find that I stopped watching horses on TV and avoided contact with them for the most part. It just saddened me way too much. During the next 8 years, I had 2 children, Andy and Tracy. As Tracy grew, I could tell she shared my love for horses. At the age of 7, her Christmas 'wish-list' started with the words: "I want a horse, please." I tried to explain her Dad's allergies but it wasn't getting through. She persisted. I started going to riding stables again, taking Tracy with me. It was the most wonderful feeling to be back on a horse after so many years and sharing this love with my daughter! We were both in heaven.

At the age of 9, she was old enough to attend a Christian Horse Camp about 5 hours away. She LOVED it and the experience only convinced us more that she wouldn't be happy without horses directly in her life. I didn't want to deprive her of the childhood I missed out on, so we discussed how we would manage horses in our life again. Tom agreed to let me shop around although my mother in law was quite upset about it. (with good reason) I saw a few horses for sale, but I had found I had become quite picky about that next horse. I wasn't just going to settle for anything with 4 legs and a mane & tail.. ;-)

Tracy at horse Camp

The very next day was Sunday and we went to Church. I was chatting with an acquaintance about horses and Tom's allergies. He said, "I just read in an agricultural magazine that there are Curly horses that are hypo-allergenic!" I laughed and said, "John, quit teasing me!!" And he said he was dead serious. I couldn't wait to get home and look it up on the internet. That was in 1997. There were only a few websites available, one being "The Curly Place". Sure enough, I found a few stories of people that had allergies and could tolerate Curlies. My first conversation with a curly breeder was with Trina Espinosa, whose husband Victor was dealthy allergic too. She sent me loads of information and was of great help to me. I must say though, my first reaction to the idea of owning such a horse wasn't so great. When I found out they shed their manes and tails I said, "you mean I am going to have to ride a poodle in the winter and a bald horse in the summer???" LoL. After making many calls, we found the closest breeder was 5 hours away. We made the trip the following weekend. It was summertime and they wouldn't have their curls but we would be able to see if Tom reacted or not. We loaded up the family and headed out.

We pulled into the yard and Amy was walking this INCREDIBLE BAY GELDING towards us. He was tall, big boned and carried himself with such pride. His name, *Zigachtcee's Parader. (aka Zig) I was immediately awe-struck. He had no mane and a very short tail.. None of that bothered me at all. I could see the remnants of tiny ringlets near his forelock. It was instant love for all of us. AND the best part, NO reaction from Tom!! We stayed for hours and he reacted very little...only when we went down to the barn where they kept some straight haired horses. While Tom surveyed what we would need to build our own barn, he had his hands behind his back as he talked. All of a sudden, he felt Zig nibble his fingers and Tom jumped! He turned around and there was the big, goofy horse standing there.....Tom died laughing. It was an instant bond. He had never been around horses much and found them intimidating for the most part...but Zig was more like a dog and we could see these horses were different. I am convinced that Zig picked Tom for his owner......;-)

We purchased Zig that day. We also purchased a well broke mare, Mary's Maiden Star for Tracy. (10 years old) Amy agreed to give us a 30 day trial just incase Tom's allergies flared up once we got him home. I remember praying before they arrived that I really wanted this to be the answer to my life-long dream, but I also felt that my life had still been very rich with many blessings and if it didn't work out, I would manage. I am still in awe -- how something negative like allergies can bring something so wonderful into our lives. It truely is a miracle to me. I had often thought, WHAT IF I had known about Tom's severe allergies before I met him, and WHAT IF I had opted to not marry him because of that (can't imagine it, but what if?) - I would have missed out on being married to my soul mate and owning these amazing horses!! Isn't it amazing how God works out everything so perfectly?

There are still times, especially in the spring when our curlies shed that Tom may have a slight reaction or if we have been out on the trail for 4+ hours...but overall he does great. He is very allergic to hay and shavings so being in the barn always messes him up. He has just found a way to deal with those things. He found he reacted more to curlies with stiffer, wirey coats, verses a soft curly coat. And he never reacted to any of our straight curly babies either. So, this is a true testament to their hypo-allergenic qualities.....

Zig is still Tom's horse today, he will be 15 years old this year...It is sort of neat because without his allergies we wouldn't have Curlies, but without my love for horses, he wouldn't have Zig. It is amazing how he has grown to love these animals as much as I do. Many people don't realize it, but it was my husband that insisted on Breeding Curlies way back when...and my husband that would get the Curlitis and have to bring a trailer load of curlies home everytime we visited Joe Mead! lol. Just goes to show you that Curlies can make even a non-horse person into a horse lover! My personal dream has always been to own 3-4 fine geldings -- ride and enjoy them. I think Tom finally has breeding out of his system, but he really does miss the foals. Here are a few more pics:

We have had awesome times as a family over the years. ....Here are some pics of those moments.

Curlies have brought extreme JOY into our lives and brought our family together. My son doesn't share the same love for horses that most of us do, but he will still participate and ride with me on occasion. I consider them a gift and I thank my husband every day for having allergies!!! Not only are they hypo-allergenic but they have so many other awesome traits that make them incredible!!! They ARE the Miracle horse!