01/20/2026
When she was little, there was only ever one thing on her wish list.
Not dolls.
Not bikes.
Not video games.
Every birthday candle, every Christmas letter to Santa, every quiet wish whispered before bed…
“I just want a horse.”
Her parents would smile and say “maybe someday,” and she would nod politely — but inside, she believed someday was real.
Then one year… it happened.
On her birthday, they handed her a box.
Inside was a lead rope.
And a note that simply said, “Go to the barn.”
Her heart raced the whole way there.
When she walked in, standing in the stall like he had been waiting for her all along, was a bay Welsh pony with a wide white blaze and the softest eyes she had ever seen.
She cried. She laughed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and promised him they would be best friends forever.
And they were.
He taught her how to fall — and how to get back up.
How to brush burrs out of his tail while telling him secrets.
How to sneak him extra treats even though she absolutely wasn’t supposed to.
They went on their first trail rides together, where he insisted on stopping to inspect every puddle like it might be hiding a monster. Sometimes he’d march bravely ahead, ears pricked, as if he were leading an entire herd — and she would sit a little taller, believing she was the luckiest girl in the world.
They grew up together.
Her legs got longer.
His back got smaller.
One day, she realized she was asking more of him than his little body could give.
And loving him meant letting him go.
The day she said goodbye, she buried her face in his mane and cried harder than she ever had before. He stood quietly, as if he knew this was one of the important moments.
She watched the trailer pull away, taking with it her childhood, her first best friend, and a thousand memories she would never forget.
But here’s the thing…
She never really stopped being that little girl who only wanted a horse.
And in every horse she loves after him — in every barn aisle, every warm breath on her shoulder, every soft nicker when she walks in…
There will always be a little bay pony with a wide blaze who started it all. 💛🐴
