Goodbye, my dear Puzzle

by Anonymus
(Portsmouth, UK)

I started riding lessons at an AMAZING riding school. I spent every Sunday from 8.30 to 4.30 there looking after the horses and mostly Puzzle. Puzzle is a piebald mare. I never found out her breed,though.

Well here is my short story:

She was on working livery, which means she stayed in a stable, but was used as a teaching horse. Her owner's name was Elizabeth. I never met her, she rarely came to see Puzzle.

Puzzle was one of the most beautiful horses you have ever seen. One day Elizabeth came to see her, and they both went out riding, they both came back safe and sound, then Elizabeth came with another woman, who rode her. She was a bad rider, she whipped her to make her walk, trot even jump, didn't use her legs once.....

Well, I had to go, and I returned the next Sunday, with a packet of Polo sweets, apple and suede for my pieblad beautiful darling Puzzle and SHE WAS GONE. Her owner had sold her.

A month later it turned out the new owner didn't like her, because she used to shake her head a lot in the stable as her forelock got into her eyes. So the new owner sent her to a slaughter house.....BUT that wasn't the end!

Luckily, somebody noticed her being taken into the slaughter house and decided to follow quietly.
She watched Puzzle being set up ready for the slaughter. She gasped and when the owner had gone and the slaughter men went to get the tools, she untied Puzzle and took her to her horse sanctuary named Viva the good Viva, which means "live the good life" in Spanish.

Puzzle is now around 25 years old, is being ridden on slow long hacks on the beach and groomed and loved alot.
I'm glad my "baby" is ok.

Thanks, Rachal, for rescuing "Puzzle".